Time Flies When You're Saving Lives (SLOW UPDATES)
by loserfanficlover
Summary: Agent Clarissa Connors of SHIELD has been through many things in her life time which is a lot considering she doesn't age. (Steve/OC)
1. Candidate or not?

**Disclaimer: I own nothing you recognize. Only my OC, Agent Clarissa Melanie Connors and her story line belongs to me.**

 **~0~ = little break**

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It was a beautiful evening and I was backstage passing time while I was waiting for Abe. The Modern Marvels Pavilion looked amazing. I was just planning on staying for Howard's show -which was starting in a few minutes- until I had to find Abe. He told me he was still looking for the perfect person to be his guinea pig, although he doesn't approve of me using that term.

"So, you excited for the show Melly bell?"

I turned to see Howard walking towards me in his white suit, looking prim and proper, not a hair out of place.

"Am I going to regret telling you my full name _Howie_?" I asked him with my own teasing at the end.

"Probably. And you didn't answer my question Mels."

"Well, I'm very excited to see your invention, Howard." I told him with a genuine smile.

"You sure you don't want to be my special showgirl for the night? I'm sure there's still an extra uniform in the back." He smirked.

I rolled my eyes at him.

"I'm 100% sure that I _do not_ want to be your showgirl. Besides, I'm waiting for Abe remember. I can only stay for a while."

"Fine, but let's have some fondue. Wouldn't want you to feel peckish while looking for our perfect soldier now do we?"

Howard offered his arm to me and I took it, letting him lead me backstage where his people have set up a fondue set. In the middle of us talking and eating, a stage crew interrupted us and called Howard to tell him he's ready to start the show.

"Alright, I guess that's my cue. I'll just go and stand with the audience. It'll be easier for me to leave from there if I see Abe. Thanks for the fondue Howie, and good luck!"

I stood up from the table, wiping my mouth with a napkin that was provided. Howard rolled his eyes at his nickname but still accepted a peck on the cheek from me. I stood further back from the stage where there were less people to make an easier getaway. Upbeat music started to play through the speakers signaling the show was about to begin.

"Ladies and gentlemen, Mr. Howard Stark!"

I clapped along with the audience members and a few women yelled out their love to Howard making me snort. When Howard kissed one of the showgirls I rolled my eyes at his antics.

"Ladies and gentlemen, what if I told you that in just a few short years,  
your automobile won't even have to touch the ground at all?"

The audience was shocked at such an absurd idea, but this was Howard we're talking about.

"With Stark Gravitic Reversion Technology, you'll be able to do just that."

I was looking around the place and I spotted Abe near the enlistment building. I waved at him to get his attention. I stayed long enough to see Howard's car hover for a few seconds before it failed.

"I did say I few years didn't I?" Howard awkwardly coughed while he addressed the laughing audience.

I left Howard's show, making sure to catch his eye giving him a wave to show that I was leaving, which he replied to by nodding. I headed over to where Abe was.

"Agent Connors, how are you this fine evening?" Dr. Abraham Erskine greeted me.

"Abe, I told you to call me Clara, or Clarissa at least." I told him with a smile.

Abe returned the smile but didn't say anything. He gestured me towards the building and I complied.

"So I have the list of recruits here and I put them into order by which has the most potential to be our guinea pig and be injected with the serum. They'll be brought to the camp in a few days then we'll start the training. I'll be the one overseeing the entire thing." I explained to the German scientist. He gave me a look because I used the term guinea pig again.

We were walking while talking and Abe was listening to me until he stopped to get a pamphlet and stopped walking, forcing me to stop as well.

"What's wrong? Why are we-"

My sentence got cut short when Abe shushed me and pointed his finger to two men talking (more like arguing) a few feet from us.

Of the two men, one was taller than the other by a head at least. He was obviously part of the army because of the uniform he was wearing. I could see under his cap that he had dark brown hair and is very handsome. The other man was shorter, if I were to stand beside him I would be a few inches taller than him. He was thin and you can tell by the way his clothes were baggy on him. Despite his physique, he had a handsome face. Blond hair that was styled proper and he had beautiful eyes from what I can see.

"Why are we stopping?" I asked Abe again.

He merely shushed me again and nudged his head towards their direction again.

"Didn't you mother ever tell you that it's rude to eavesdrop." I teased.

Abe just gave me a look which I ignored and put my focus on the conversation the two men were having.

"-What do you want me to do? Collect scrap metal in my little red wagon?" Said the shorter man.

"Yes! Why not?"

"I'm not gonna sit in a factory, Bucky. Come on. There are men laying down their lives. I got no right to do any less than them. That's what you don't understand."

I could feel my expression soften. Obviously Bucky -the taller one- didn't think his friend was capable of joining the army. I know what that's like, with me being the only woman in the agency.

"This isn't about me." The shorter man continued.

"Right. 'Cause you got nothing to prove." Bucky said to him looking disappointed.

Someone called out to Bucky gaining his attention making him look back to answer. The two shared a hug before Bucky went off who knows where. I looked over at the blond haired man once more. My heart empathized with what he is going through and I found myself more interested and curious to get to know this man. The man went on his way to enlist. I lost sight of him when he was ushered into a ward.

With Abe on my tail, I asked a doctor for the blond man's file. We were told to wait a while. Shortly the doctor came back with a file in hand.

"Here you are Agent Connors."

"Oh thank you." I said, taking the folder that was handed to me.

 **Steven G. Rogers**  
 **Age: 24**  
 **Date of birth: July 4, 1918**  
 **Address: 14047 Brooklyn Street, Brooklyn, NY**  
 **Hair color: Blond**  
 **Eye color: Blue**  
 **Height: 5'2"**  
 **Weight: 95 lbs**

 **Summary of Patient Health Issue:**  
 **Asthma**  
 **Scarlet fever**  
 **Rheumatic fever**  
 **Color-blindness**  
 **Sinusitis**  
 **Anemia**  
 **Chronic or frequent cold**  
 **High blood pressure**  
 **Palpitation or pounding in heart**  
 **Easy fatigue ability**  
 **Heart trouble**  
 **Nervous trouble of any sort**  
 **Has had household contact with tuberculosis patient**  
 **Parent/sibling with diabetes, cancer, stroke or heart disease**

Steve Rogers. It fits him. I let out a whistle as I look over the list of his health issues again and all I could think was if he should be even _leaving_ his house with all these conditions. In his file were also 4 other enlistment forms that were all stamped **4F**. I smirked to myself. He really wants to fight for his country despite the consequences he might get if he were to get caught. I admired his dedication and perseverance. I handed Abe the file so he could get a look at it too.

"You think he'd be a good candidate?" I asked Abe after he finished reading.

"Perhaps. I'd have to test him first to see." He said with a thoughtful smile.

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 **AN: Reviews would mean the world to me! This is my very first fanfic so please be nice yet honest! I'll update whenever I can, I'm on break right now so I'll try to be consistent with my updates. I'll do a splurge of updates just so people can have a feel of the story. Thank you so much for reading and I hope you enjoyed! -E**


	2. Enlisting for the Army

**Disclaimer: I own nothing you recognize. Only my OC, Agent Clarissa Melanie Connors and her story line belongs to me.**

 **~0~ = little break**

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I signaled a military guard to lead us to Steve's ward. I saw the guard talk to a nurse who went behind the curtain and soon after exited with a doctor who passed by us with a nod. The guard held the curtain open for us while we entered. Steve was in the midst of putting his shoes back on before he looked up to see us enter.

"That'll be all thank you." I said to the guard who nodded at me before leaving us alone.

Abe set down his briefcase and opened Steve's files before talking.

"So, you want to go overseas and kill some Nazis?" He asked Steve.

Steve looked at him then to me with a confused expression.

"... Excuse me?"

"Dr. Abraham Erskine, I represent the Strategic Scientific Reserve along with Agent Clarissa Connors over here."

I gave him a nod and a small smile, which he politely returned.

"Steve Rogers... Where are you from if you don't mind my asking?" He asked Abe.

I smiled slightly.

"Queens. 73rd Street and Utopia Parkway... but before that Germany." Abe told Steve as if he was just commenting on the weather.

"Does this trouble you?" I asked him, giving him a look.

"N-no not at all." He stuttered.

Although I am intimidating to some people, I could tell his answer was genuine.

"Where are you from Mr. Rogers?" I asked him, taking the file from Abe.

"Please, call me Steve, ma'am." He requested with a friendly smile.

I nodded at him.

"Alright... Steve, where are you from? Hmm... is it New Haven? Or perhaps Paramus?"

Steve had a troubled look on his face when he heard me read out from his file.

"Five exams in five different cities..." Abe continued.

"That might not be the right file..." Steve tried to defend himself.

I stepped forward, putting myself directly in front of him with Abe to my back.

"Oh, no. It's not the exams we're interested in Steve. It's the five tries. And you still haven't answered Dr. Erskine's question; do you want to kill some Nazis?"

He looked deep into my eyes, not even wavering slightly. It was as if a new person was in front of me. I could see the passion burning through his strikingly blue eyes. His eyesight left mine and looked passed me. I assumed he was looking at Abe.

"Is this a test?" He asked.

"Yes." Abe said with a serious tone.

At first, Steve looked hesitant to answer but his expression changed to determination.

"I don't want to kill anyone... I don't like bullies; I don't care where they're from." Steve spoke with a genuine yet serious tone of voice.

It was then where this man enraptured my heart. The way he spoke with conviction and firmness. Like I could listen to this man speak for days on end and still be enticed with whatever he was saying. I smiled widely at Steve.

"Very well said." I complimented him.

A light pink dusted the blond man's cheeks, which made me smile even more.

"There are already so many big men fighting this war, maybe what we need now is a little guy, huh?" Abe put in his own comment as to what Steve said.

He and I shared a look that said _this man is the perfect candidate for the experiment._ Abe nodded at me to offer the chance to Steve.

"We can offer you a chance; only a chance." I told him while going through the curtain Abe opened for us, Steve following behind us.

"I'll take it." Steve said eagerly.

"Good, so where is the little guy from actually?" Abe asked him while looking for the right stamp.

"Brooklyn." Steve answered sheepishly.

I handed Abe the enlistment form, which he stamped a big **1A** and put it back into the folder, which I took and handed back to Steve. Abe offered his hand to Steve and bid him congratulations before he left for the hallway to give Steve and I some privacy.

Steve was still looking at his approved form as if he couldn't believe it actually happened. I cleared my throat lightly as if to remind him of my presence. He looked a bit startled to see that I was still there.

"A-agent Connors, I-I didn't realize you were still here..." Steve stammered out nervously.

I let out a breathy laugh.

"Just Clara please, and I wanted to offer my congratulations... Soldier." I smirked at him.

"Thank you Agent-" I gave him a look.

"I mean, Clara. I can't believe that this is actually happening, I should be thanking you and Dr. Erskine." He had a soft smile on his face but he was looking at the ground.

"Like Dr. Erskine said, we need more men like you. Out of all men I've recruited for our program, some who are very arrogant I might add; you are by far my favourite." I disclosed to him while rolling at the thought of this one particular soldier who tried to hit on me.

Once again, that lovely colour of pink spread across Steve's cheeks from the compliment I gave him. I turned my head slightly to see Abe tapping his watch signaling that we had to leave soon. I am going to be honest and say that I didn't actually want to leave.

Talking to Steve was like a breath of fresh air. I mostly talked to Howard or Abe and Chester. Howard was very flirty when he talks to me and we never talked about anything serious other than the project, which is also what Abe, Chester, and I talk about. I very much enjoyed Steve's company despite just meeting him. He has this vibe that makes you just want to get to know him.

"Well, I hate to say this but I have to get going."

I might be just seeing things but I saw that Steve's eyes saddened when I said that.

"Oh, o-of course. I'm sorry I-I didn't mean to keep you back." Steve started rambling more apologies that made me giggle a bit.

"Steve, it's fine. I'll see you in a few days at camp, soldier."

He nodded before saying a quiet goodbye. I gave him a smirk and winked at him before leaving. I looked back to see him still standing in the same spot looking at his form again before smiling widely and leaving. I had my own smile plastered on my face because of him.

Once I reached Abe he noticed how big my smile was and smirked.

"You've taken a liking to Mr. Rogers, yes?"

I felt my cheeks warm but didn't deny anything.

"He's just different, good different... but still different." I tried to explain.

"I see..." Abe murmured, with a thoughtful expression.

As we walked to the car that would be taking us back to the hotel, thoughts of Steve infiltrated my mind. I kept thinking about how he answered Abe's question about wanting to kill Nazi's, he had such a heartwarming answer. Maybe we do have hope for this war.


	3. Teasing and Preparations

**Disclaimer: I own nothing you recognize. Only my OC, Agent Clarissa Melanie Connors and her story line belongs to me.**

 **~0~ = little break**

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Getting back to the hotel and bidding Abe a goodnight, I trudged up the three flights of stairs to get to my hotel room. Upon opening the door and lying on my bed, it was only then when I realized I had yet packed my things for my flight back to Camp. I was fine with being driven back there but Howard insisted that I come along on his plane with him because he didn't want to be alone during the flight.

Sighing, I stood from my bed and walked over to where I put my suitcase when I first arrived here. Dirty clothes littered around my suitcase from when I haphazardly just thrown them there. I didn't want to take the time to fold them back up so I just stuffed my clothes back in- remembering to leave some items that I would wear tomorrow- hoping it would fit. It took me another 30 minutes to pack everything and by the end, I was utterly exhausted. Lying down on my bed, I greeted sleep with open arms.

~0~

The next morning, I found Howard has let himself in my hotel room, casually sitting on one of the chairs provided, reading the morning newspaper. He greeted me once he noticed I was awake.

"Wakey wakey Mels!" Howard all but shouted at me with enthusiasm.

I groaned as I lifted my head more but still trying to shield my eyes from the sunlight streaming through the window that Howard annoyingly opened.

"Ugh, you're too happy this morning and how the hell did you get in here?" I asked him, sleep still evident in my voice. He ignored my question.

"C'mon, we have to leave for Jersey in 30 minutes. I already got someone to take your luggage for you to the plane, but don't worry!" He quickly cut in when he saw me about to speak "I left a small bag for you to put your changed clothes in."

I nodded a thanks at Howard and quickly took the clothes that was set on the table and changed into them in the bathroom. I took note that he got me a blueberry muffin for breakfast and I was very thankful for that.

"Okay let's hit the road!" I exclaimed after getting changed.

Howard stood up from his seat and as he passed by me I heard him mutter "finally" softly under his breath. I rolled my eyes at him. We took a car, courtesy of Howard, to the private runway where his plane would be.

"Did you find someone worth it last night?" Howard asked, starting a conversation so it wouldn't be a quiet journey.

"I would say so." A smile slowly forming on my face at the thought of Steve.

Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Howard looking at my face with curiosity in his eyes.

"Oh, what's that look for?" He asked, though I could hear the teasing in his voice.

I scoffed and shook my head at him.

"Oh please, it's nothing Howie. I just... I have a really good feeling about him." I confessed.

I turned my head towards Howard and he was nodding his head, understanding what I said but still keeping that smirk on his face.

Shaking my head, I said, "You know as well as I do Howard that that's not going to work out well."

"That doesn't mean you can't try and indulge yourself with that feeling."

Howard's one of the few people I trusted with my secret. He and I have known each other for about 5-6 years now. Working together on Project Rebirth was a coincidence that I'm thankful for. I sat silently not knowing what or how to reply to what Howard said. As the car turned, I could see the plane waiting for us as well as another car. As Howard opened the door for me I looked him in the eye and said

"I'd rather not put myself in a compromising situation like that where I could only get hurt."

With that, I headed towards the plane, only stopping to greet Abe who was coming along with us.

Once we landed there were already military cars waiting for us. Some of Howard's people and the military guards took our luggage and put it in the other car while we rode on the first one. Chester or Col. Philips was at the gate of the camp waiting for us with his usual _I'm so done with everything_ expression. I get out of the car and walked over to him with Howard right behind me.

"Chester! Good to see you!" I shouted my arms open wide ready to embrace him.

The corners of his mouth turned up a bit before accepting my hug. He coughed after letting me out of his arms.

"Agent Connors, good to see you. How was the recruiting process?" Chester asked getting right down to business as we walked further into the camp.

"It was good sir. We recruited a lot of men that have the possibility of being injected with the serum and that are fit to be soldiers." I informed him, going into Agent mode as well.

"Alright, that's good. You know what the General says; wars aren't won by weapons-"

"They're won by men." I cut him off and finished the sentence myself.

"Go to your barrack. You're the only woman on this base meaning you get one to yourself. You'll find your uniform there." He informed me.

I nodded and saluted him and went my way dragging Howard with me. A group of men jogged passed us and looking around the place, I noticed how quiet it was with only just a few men here. My eyes went back to the joggers and smiled thinking about Steve doing activities like that. I shook my head when I realized that I was thinking of him again. Howard looked at me weirdly before a teasing smirk formed on his face.

"Don't!" I exclaimed sharply "Even think about it."

He put up his hands, a gesture of surrender, and put his hand around my waist, giving me a gentle side hug.

"C'mon Mel, let's get you changed, it's going to be a long week."

I let him lead me towards my room thinking how right his statement was.

* * *

The week before the recruits came in I had to plan everything. Considering I was the one overseeing the entire thing I had to have a plan of what kind of training I would make them go through to test which of the few will be our final candidate. Days went by and I mostly helped Howard in the lab seeing if anything was wrong with the machine or helping Abe double check the serum. On the day the recruits arrived, I made sure my uniform was perfect and that I looked proper before heading out to greet the men. I went to see Howard before going out there.

"Well don't you look pretty today Mels." He complimented me once he got out from underneath the machine.

"I look the same as always Howard but thanks." I smiled at him and gave him a kiss on the cheek.

"So you heading out to see the recruits? Heard they were here already."

"Yeah I was just on my way but I stopped by to see you." I told him as I looked at my watch.

"Aww, thanks Mels." He cooed.

I rolled my eyes at his childishness.

"Okay I have to go or else I'm going to be late. Don't blow yourself up!" I yelled at him teasingly as I leave the room.

"That was one time!" I heard him yell to me but I just laughed.

I drove to the field where the recruits were waiting for me. With an army man in tow, he handed out clipboards to the recruits. Just by looking down the line I can easily spot Steve who was a head shorter than everyone else. Catching his eye, I sent a warm smile to him which he returned politely.

"Recruits, attention!"

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 **AN: Kind of a filler chapter but I left a small cliff hanger in the end! Thanks to** **Cobbler1998 for being the first to review for this story! Means a lot to me so thank you very much! Hope you guys enjoyed! I'll start updating weekly from now on so keep an eye out for next week's chapter! -E**


	4. Training the Recruits

**Disclaimer: I own nothing you recognize. Only my OC, Agent Clarissa Melanie Connors and her story line belongs to me. Big thanks to soulsistersinaslan for reviewing!**

 **~0~ = little break**

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 _Recap from last chapter:_

 _I drove to the field where the recruits were waiting for me. With an army man in tow, he handed out clipboards to the recruits. Just by looking down the line I can easily spot Steve who was a head shorter than everyone else. Catching his eye, I sent a warm smile to him which he returned politely._

 _"Recruits, attention!"_

~0~

I looked at all the men in line stand straighter and face forward, all talking stopped.

"Gentlemen, I am Agent Connors. I am the one supervising all operations for this division." I explained to them.

I was going to continue talking when a familiar, arrogant voice interrupted me.

"I thought you were joking when you said you were part of the army, baby doll."

I walked over to the man that spoke, my face emotionless, although inside I was itching to punch this man.

"What's your name again, soldier?" My mind drawing a blank when I look at his face.

"Forgot already sweet cheeks? The name's Hodge, Gilmore Hodge." I wanted to wipe off that smug look on his face.

Now remembering where I've heard his voice before, (he was the guy that tried to hit on me when were recruiting him) I put a sickeningly sweet smile on my face.

"Ah yes Hodge, I remember you now. Alright will you please step out of line and put your right foot forward?" I asked nicely through gritted teeth.

He looked at the faces of the other soldiers before doing what I asked.

"You finally taking up my offer of going dancing? 'Cause I got a few moves I know you'll like." He smirked and his eyes raked my body.

I rolled my eyes, pulled back my arm and punched him straight on the nose. I heard and felt a satisfying crunch when he fell on the dirt, knowing I probably (hopefully) broke his nose or at least bruised it. I heard the recognizable rumble of a military car drive near and saw that it was Abe and Chester.

"Agent Connors!" Chester greeted.

"Colonel Philips." I gave him a salute and nod before stepping out of the way to let him talk to the recruits.

"I can see that you are breaking in the candidates. That's good!" He complimented, looking at Hodge who was still on the ground grunting and moaning while tending to his broken and bloody nose.

I smiled pleased with the pain he deserved. I stood by Abe, letting Chester be the center of attention for his inspirational speech, as one might call it.

"Get your ass up out of that dirt and stand on that line at attention 'till somebody comes and tells you what to do." Chester ordered Hodge.

"Yes, sir!" Hodge called out, scrambling to get up and stand to attention for the Colonel.

"General Patton has said that wars are fought with weapons, but they are won by men." Chester spoke, repeating what he said to me earlier this week while letting his eyes wander through the line.

"We are going to win this war because we have the best men."

His speech faltered when his gaze landed on Steve. He paused his speech to look back to the both of us. Abe was trying to hide his smile and not catch Chester's gaze, whereas I was full on smiling or smirking for the better word.

"-And because they are gonna get better... much better. Agent, would you like to continue?" He gestured for me to step up and speak to the recruits once again. I nodded and stepped forward, talking while walking down the line of men.

"The Strategic Scientific Reserve is an Allied effort made up of the best minds in the free world. Our goal is to create the best army in history. But every army starts with _one_ man." While saying my last sentence, my eyes happened to find the bright, baby blue of Steve's. Getting distracted, Chester took over once more.

"At the end of this week, we will choose that man. He will be the first, in a new breed of super-soldier. And they will personally escort Adolf Hitler to the gates of hell."

All the men stood straighter and looked more confident after the Colonel's inspiring speech.

"I'll let you get started on your training, Agent. I wish you all the luck soldiers, you've got a tough week ahead of you with this one." Colonel Philips winked at me before taking off.

"Alright gentlemen, let's start things off with something easy, two laps around the field/track! Let's go!" I yelled.

The men, at first, stumbled and got tangled up with each other, not knowing that they were to start training at that instant but after a while they fell into a rhythm. By the end of the run a few of the men were panting like dogs. Steve on the other hand looks like he's about to cough out a lung by how much he's coughing. That's when I remembered that he was asthmatic but that didn't stop him from running, which made me smile at his determination.

The Sergeant that was helping me ordered them to go climb the rope wall. Everyone was climbing it at ease except for one gentleman. Steve. When his foot was caught on the rope I could see Hodge smirking down at him for his failure which angered me. They then proceeded to crawl in the mud underneath barbed wires with rifles.

"Let's go! C'mon!" The drill sergeant yelled, encouraging the men to crawl faster.

I looked up to see the men doing their best to crawl in mud but my eyes narrowed when I saw Hodge kick one of the posts that was holding the wires up so it would fall on Steve. I'll show him a piece of my mind later.

"Rogers! Get that rifle out of the mud!" The Sergeant yelled angrily at him.

I walked over to the recruits after their drill.

"Alright, we'll call that a day. Everyone get cleaned and go back to their bunkers, except for Hodge. You sir are going to run an extra two laps." I ordered him.

Some of the men stopped walking and turned around to listen in to me punishing Hodge.

"W-what? Why do I need-" He started.

"You do _not_ get to question me, soldier. I am your superior and I say you need to run two laps!" I yelled.

Before he got a chance to leave I pulled his short and leaned close to his ear saying "I've been watching you and I know what you did earlier during the wire drill, consider this punishment for unfair treatment." I smirked when I let go of him, catching the gaze of Steve who stayed back.

"Now move, move! You won't get to leave until you finish those two laps! Sergeant, I can trust you to watch him yes?" I questioned said Sergeant.

"Yes ma'am!" He said, saluting me.

"Good, I'll leave you to it then."

With that, I turned to make my exit.

* * *

It was already dark when I walked out of my own bunker. I decided that it was a good night for me to take an evening stroll. Dressed only in my nightgown, I walked around the camp seeing a few soldiers out as well, declining when they asked if I needed help or something and bid them goodnight. Muttering a few profanities under my breath when a cold breeze hit me, regretting not bringing a sweater or jacket of some sort when I noticed a small man sitting out on the steps of a bunker with a notepad in hand.

"Steve." I heard myself call out before I could stop myself.

I obviously startled him because he dropped his notepad and pencil before looking up at the sound of my voice. Seeing that it was me, he immediately stood up at attention.

"A-Agent Connors."

I smiled at him.

"At ease soldier. And what have I told you, it's Clara." I reminded him.

His shoulders relaxed but tensed again when I told him to call me by my first name.

"But ma'am, we're on the base and like you said to Hodge, you're our superior. Shouldn't we be professional?" He explained to me politely.

"I did say you were my favourite before you even got here, still are actually so I think I can make an exception, just this once." I joked.

We sat in a comfortable silence, just admiring the clear sky, only the moon as a light source.

"Thank you." Steve said softly, breaking the silence.

"Hmm? What for?" I asked.

"The whole Hodge thing." He explained.

"Oh that. Well, it was mostly about how he treated you but it was also a bit of punishing him for how he talked to me during the beginning of the day." I scowled at the thought of his face and voice talking to me that moment.

"It wasn't right how he talked to you, he was way out of line for saying the things he did, agent or not." Steve proclaimed, a bit angry.

"I think I handled him well don't you think? That was the second time he did that. I question myself why I didn't punch him the first time around." I laughed softly, shaking my head.

"Second time?" Steve questioned.

"Remember when I said a recruit tried to hit on me? Yeah, that was him. The nerve he had thinking I would actually agree to go dancing with him."

"Like you said, you did handle it well. You got a mean swing there." Steve teased, finally getting comfortable with talking to me.

"So I've heard." I laughed.

Another comfortable silence fell on us and another breeze hit, making me shiver and run my hands up and down my arms to create heat. Steve must have noticed because he was about to take off the jacket he smartly wore.

"Oh no! I'm fine Steve really." I protested as he was about to offer his jacket to me. "I should be heading back to my room anyways, it's getting pretty late." I said, standing up.

"Oh, right. I could walk you back if you'd like." Steve offered.

I grinned at his gentlemanly offer.

"No, that's alright, I think I can make it back myself. I'm a big girl Steve, I can do this." I joked. "But thank you for the offer. You should sleep, we have a long week ahead of us. Goodnight Steve." I bid with a warm smile and turned to leave.

"Goodnight... Clara." He called back, though softly.

I looked back again to smile at him once more before going my way.

~0~

It was the last day of training and all the recruits have been passing all the tests they've been given frustratingly perfect except for one; Steve. They were on another run with the drill sergeant but this time I was at the half-way point waiting for them.

"Pick up the pace, ladies! Let's go, let's go! Double time! Come on! Faster! Faster! Move! Move!" I looked back, hearing the familiar voice of the sergeant yelling at the recruits.

I saw that Steve was once again at the back of the line.

"Squad, halt! That flag means we're only at the halfway point! Now, since it's the last day the first man to bring it to me gets a ride back with Agent Connors! Now move, move!"

The recruits all jumped at the chance at getting the flag so they won't have to run anymore but none of them were succeeding.

"If that's all you got then this army's in trouble!" The sergeant insulted "Get up there Hodge! Come on, get up there!" He encouraged.

I almost groaned when Hodge almost made it up the pole but then smirked when he slipped down.

"Nobody's got that flag in 17 years!" The drill sergeant informed them. "Now fall back into line! Come on, fall in! Let's go! Get back into formation! Rogers! I said, fall in!"

I turned back just in time to see Steve stand at the base of the pole and pulling out the necessary parts that held the pole up. Discarding the parts, Steve and the rest of us watched as the pole fell. Gathering the flag from the top, he walked over to the Sergeant and handed it to him, the others watching in awe.

"Thank you sir." Steve told him before getting in and sitting in the back of the car.

I could only smile at him proudly.

~0~

"Faster, ladies! Come on. My grandmother has more life in her, God rest her soul." I humored them, urging the men to movie faster.

"Move it!" I ordered.

"You're not really thinking about picking Rogers, are you?"

I looked over to see Abe and Chester walk towards the group. Once I heard Steve's name in their conversation, my ears perked up and listened in.

"Clara and I agreed on this and we weren't just thinking about it. He is the clear choice." Abe said.

I smiled when I heard Abe finally call me Clara.

"Alright, now jumping jacks." I ordered them before walking over to Abe and Chester.

They acknowledged me with a nod before carrying the conversation.

"When you two brought a 90 pound asthmatic to my army base, I let it slide. I thought, what the hell? Maybe he'd be useful to you, like a gerbil. I never thought you would actually pick him." Chester said, annoyance clear in his voice.

The three of us looked over to the soldiers doing the exercise I picked, seeing Steve struggle at a simple exercise.

"Stick a needle in that kid's arm, it's gonna go through him. Look at that. He's making me cry." Chester mocked.

I sighed. "Chester, you know we're looking for qualities beyond the physical, and yes we know how long it took you to set this project up and all the groveling you had to do for Senator Brandt's committee."

"We are well aware of your efforts." Abe put in.

"Then throw me a bone. Hodge passed every test we gave him. He's big, he's fast. He obeys orders. He's a soldier."

I looked to see Hodge with a smug look on his face. We accidentally made eye contact and he winked at me making me scoff and roll my eyes.

"Not only is he a pig, but he's also a bully." I told Chester with my arms crossed and with that I walked back to the men.

"C'mon girls! You can do better than that!"

My heart stopped when I heard the familiar sound of a grenade being pulled.

"Grenade!" Someone shouted.

The men all shouted and cowered away and hid behind the nearby trucks. I was about to cover the grenade, knowing the blast won't harm me when a small man beat me to it.

"Get away! Get back Clara!" He shouted at me, flailing his arms and curled himself around the grenade, planning to soften the blow.

My heart fell to my stomach when Steve said my name. I almost cried but then I noticed that it took too long to the grenade to blow.

"It's a dummy grenade. All clear. Get back in formation." I vaguely heard someone yell, only hearing the blood rushing in my ear.

"What the hell was that?!" I yelled to Chester, connecting the dots that he was the one to throw the fake grenade.

He just ignored me and said with a straight face to Abe "He's still skinny." then left.

~0~

At the end of the day, a lot of the recruits were sent back and put into different infantries. I was supposed to talk to Steve when I saw Abe walk out of Steve's bunker.

"Did you talk to him?" I asked, falling to step with the German Scientist.

"Yes, he's nervous for tomorrow, as am I." Abe confessed.

"That makes two of us." I said with a small laugh.

"What if something goes wrong tomorrow, during the procedure... What if I'm just sending a good man to his death." Abe said worryingly.

"Abe, if you're not confident in this then what the hell are the rest of the people supposed to do. We worked on this for the longest time. Be confident. Everything's going to be fine... it has to be." I reassured him, saying the last part to myself to make me feel a bit better about this entire thing.

"I told him it would be you who would accompany him on his way there. I think that made him feel a bit better." He told me, a smirk upon his face.

I smiled and rolled my eyes fondly at him.

"I think it would reassure me more if I were the one to bring him there." I told him honestly.

We walked in silence, my thoughts swirling around in my head at the thought of tomorrow.

 _Steve better be alive by the end of tomorrow._

* * *

 **AN: Thank you for reading and I hope to see you next week! -E**

 **As for reviews...**

 **-Thank you for reviewing! I'm sorry for the short chapters, I am fairly new to this so I hope as time goes they'll be much longer. I am trying to spread this story out so that's my only reason for short chapters!**

 **-I love writing the small moments between Clarissa and Howard! It will definitely stir up some jealousy in Steve considering his abilities with women. I will try to update weekly so I hope you follow/favorite this story!**


	5. Super Soldier

**Disclaimer: I own nothing you recognize. Only my OC, Agent Clarissa Melanie Connors and her story line belongs to me.**

 **~0~ = little break**

* * *

I woke up bright and early the next day. I stayed in my bed a few extra minutes than usual, needing to take the time to set my emotions straight. I knew I shouldn't have gotten attached to Steve, I scolded myself internally. But I mean, how could you not? He was sweet, caring, a real gentleman, brave, and not to mention his way with words.

Shaking my head, as if it would rid of the thoughts from it, I got changed into my uniform. I was just about to leave for Steve's quarters when I found him in front of my door with his hand raised to knock.

"Steve!" I said, startled.

He put his arm down and gave me a small smile.

"Good morning, Clara. I was just about to knock." He told me.

I nodded "Yeah, surprised me there a bit. I was just about to go to your place actually."

"Dr. Erskine said it was you who would be taking me to the lab so I thought I'd save you the trouble of walking to my bunker and just come here." Steve explained with a shrug.

"Well thank you, that's very thoughtful of you. Shall we?"

He nodded and let me lead him to the car. Like the gentleman he is, he opened the door for me once he figured out which car we were going in.

Driving around the streets of Brooklyn, Steve started recognizing where we were. I remembered that he lived here so that's why he was recognizing places.

"Hey, I know this neighborhood." He said to me.

"Really?"

"Yeah," with a finger, he pointed out some places. "I got beat up in that alley... And that parking lot..." He looked down, sort of embarrassed. "And behind that diner."

I looked at him before speaking "Did you have something against running away?"

"Well, you start running they'll never let you stop. You stand up, push back, they can't say no forever right?" He explained.

I nodded, understanding what he meant on a personal level.

"I know a little of what that's like,  
to have every door shut in your face." I told him.

"I guess I just don't know why you'd want to join the Army if you were a beautiful dame." He blurted out but was kind of shocked that he said that.

I looked at him with a raised eyebrow and a slight smirk. He started stuttering, trying to save himself from what he said.

"Or a beautifu... a woman. An agent. Not a dame. You are beautiful, but..."

I cut him off to save him from more embarrassment, it was actually kind of cute the way he stutters.

"You have no idea how to talk to a woman, do you?" I asked with a laugh.

My laughing must have gave him some confidence and reassurance that what he said wasn't offensive or out of line because he had a smile on his face too.

"I think this is the longest conversation I've had with one, besides the first time we met, and the one from that night..." He blushed a bit before sighing.

"Women aren't exactly lining up to dance with a guy they might step on." Steve confessed.

"You must have danced surely. I find it hard to believe that you've never danced." I said looking at him though he was still looking down.

Steve was such a great guy. He was sweet and enjoyable to talk to and it wasn't like he was bad looking or anything. He was actually very handsome. It's their loss if they didn't want to dance with him.

"Well, asking a woman to dance always seemed so terrifying. And the past few years, it just didn't seem to matter that much." He said, looking up and out the window.

"Figured I'd wait."

"For what?" I asked.

With a shrug of his shoulders he said "The right partner."

My face softened and I smiled though he didn't see.

~0~

The closer we got to the place the more nervous I became. When the car parked in front of the shop it felt like I was having a full on panic attack. Steve opened the door for me and looked around.

"What are we doing here?" He asked curiously.

"Follow me." I just said, leading him to the antique shop.

A bell tingled signaling the owner there were people who entered. An old lady came from the back to greet us.

"Wonderful weather this morning, isn't it?" She asked politely.

It may seem like a normal start to a conversation but it was actually a code.

"Yes, but I always bring an umbrella." I said the memorized answer. It was a really stupid and odd code.

The woman went behind the front desk and pressed what I imagined was a button to open the secret doors that would lead us to the lab. With Steve behind me, we walked the path there. Once the final doors opened, all the people stopped what they were doing to look at Steve and I.

I stole a glance at Steve before walking down the stairs that would lead us to Abe. Steve and him shook hands and a photographer came and try to take a shot of it.

"Please, not now." Abe reprimanded said photographer.

The photographer scurried off after he got the tail end of my glare.

"Are you ready?" Abe asked.

Steve looked at the machine nervously and looked like he couldn't formulate any words so he only nodded.

Abe smiled sympathetically at him and me as well, noticing my stiff posture.

"Good. Take off your shirt, your tie, and your hat." He instructed Steve to do.

Steve looked at me briefly before doing so, hesitant that he wasn't given any privacy to do so. I was courteous enough to look away from him, seeing his ears turn a bright red from embarrassment, though I smirked when I noticed.

After doing what Abe instructed, Steve climbed the ladder and positioned himself in the machine. I stood at his side holding his arm with a firm grip, like it was the only thing helping me through this. Steve didn't seem to mind me doing so.

"Comfortable?" I asked, a hint of amusement in my voice.

"It's a little big." He replied with a laugh, though it seemed forced.

Steve looked at Abe, who was standing on his other side.

"Save me any of that Schnapps?" He asked humorously, an inside joke I presumed since Abe laughed.

"Not as much as I should have. Sorry, maybe next time." Abe replied.

I heard another person enter and looked to see Howard climbing down the stairs, headed towards us. He came over to me and gave me a hug and kiss on the cheek.

"Mr. Stark? How are your levels?" Abe turned away from Steve to ask.

"Levels at 100 percent." Howard told Abe, his eyes roaming Steve's face and body.

Abe nodded and murmured a _good_ under his breath.

"We may dim half the lights in Brooklyn, but we are ready... As we'll ever be." Howard said the last part quieter but I still heard him. That didn't really help me calm my nerves down.

"Agent Connors, don't you think you would be more comfortable in the booth?" Abe asked me, gesturing me towards the stairs that lead to the booth.

The corner of my lips turned up "Abe, I would be much more comfortable down here." I told him honestly.

He smiled as well and nodded, leaving me with Steve. I looked down at him, my eyes slightly watering. I moved one of my hands from his up to stroke his hair.

"You're gonna be fine, I promise." I reassured him. "After this is over, I'm expecting a certain soldier to ask me to go dancing, and I'm not talking about Hodge." I told him, my lips widening to form a smile.

I laughed when his eyes widened at my statement.

"Are you sure?" He asked me.

"Positive, so you have to make it through this or else I'm gonna be really disappointed, and we can't have my favorite disappointing me, right blue eyes?" I asked teasingly.

Steve eyes sparkled with amusement at the name and smirked slightly.

"Blue eyes?" He questioned.

I hand moved down to cup his cheek, my thumb slightly caressing near his eyes.

"Well, you have beautiful blue eyes, I thought it fits perfectly." I said.

"Better push through this and make it huh? Wouldn't want to disappoint you, right Clary?" He asked jokingly but the nickname at the end was the one that caught my attention.

"Clary?" I asked him, a smirk gracing my own face.

Steve turned slightly red, not realizing what he actually said.

"Well, umm, I just- you gave me a nickname, thought it seemed alright to give you one." He explained sheepishly. "I don't have to call you that if you don't like it." He added quickly, taking my silence as distaste.

"No, no. It's fine. I like it. No one's ever called me that before, it's a nice change." I stated, my smirk forming into a smile.

Abe sadly told us that we had to get started, my long forgotten anxiousness slowly crept back to me.

"I'll see you later, blue eyes." I whispered to Steve, giving him a kiss on the cheek.

"You got it, Clary." He said to me softly but firm.

I walked over to Howard, my bottom lip between my teeth and my hands slightly shaking.

"Mels, you alright? You're shaking." He said once he noticed my demeanor.

"He's gonna make it through this, right Howard?" I asked with a soft, shaky voice.

Realization washed over his face, and his expression softened.

"Oh, Melly." He said "That's him isn't it? The one you talked about in the car?"

My throat felt dry so I could only nod.

"I may have gotten attached." I confessed to Howard. "So please tell me he'll be fine. False sense of security would be acceptable right now." I told him.

"Mels, look at me. He'll be fine. Dr. Erskine did his work perfectly and I ran all my blueprints by you and you found nothing wrong with it, he will make it through this alright?"

As I looked into Howard's eyes, I could see a sliver of doubt in them but I looked at the more positive side of things and took a few calming breaths and nodded a thanks to Howard who smiled in return. I watch Abe flick a microphone in his hand, testing if it was working.

"Ladies and gentlemen, today we take not another step towards annihilation, but the first step on the path to peace. We begin with a series of micro-injections into the subject's major muscle groups. The serum infusion will cause immediate cellular change. And then, to stimulate growth, the subject will be saturated with Vita-Rays." Abe informed the group of people in the booth.

A helper put test tubes with blue liquid -the serum- it its place in the machine while a nurse injected Steve with something I assume to be penicillin.

Abe began to count down for the infusion.

"Serum infusion beginning in five...four...three...two...one."

Steve looked like he was in pain when he shut his eyes. I clenched my hand into a fist. He gasped and opened his eyes.

"Now Mr. Stark!" Abe ordered Howard, who pushed a lever.

The table Steve was once lying down on transformed into a pod for the vita rays. Another scientist hooked up an oxygen line so Steve could breath in the now shut capsule. I ran up to it and knocked lightly.

"Steve? Can you hear me?"

He sounded a bit muffled but said "It's probably too late to go to the bathroom right?" He joked which made me laugh in relief.

"We will proceed, Howard." I approved, stepping back to where I was.

A humming sound came from the machine when Howard activated it.

"That's ten percent." Howard announced. "Twenty percent. Thirty."

The humming became louder and the room became brighter because of the light emitting from the pod.

"That's forty percent!" Howard declared.

"Vital signs are normal." A scientist informed us.

"Fifty percent... Sixty... Seventy."

And that's when my heart stopped because at seventy percent Steve started screaming in agony. I quickly ran back to the machine.

"Steve! Steve!" I yelled, hitting the machine.

I turned back to Howard and shouted at him "Shut it down Howard! Please, shut it down!"

Abe soon joined my hysterics. "Kill the reactor Mr. Stark! Turn it off!"

Howard was just about to cut the power when a scream made us all freeze.

"No! Don't! Clary, I can do this!" Steve shouted, thought quite obvious he was still in pain.

Howard looked at me, waiting for me to tell him what to do. I nodded at him and let him continue, granting Steve's pleas.

"Eighty... Ninety... That's one hundred percent!" Howard exclaimed.

The machines around us started sparking, making a lot of the people cower. The humming stopped and the light dimmed down. Everyone was silent.

"Howard." I said softly, ordering him to open the pod.

With a hiss, the pod opened up to reveal an entirely new Steve. He was panting and sweating, while being guided down the machine by Abe and Howard. It's like it wasn't even Steve anymore. He grew well over a foot, towering both men holding him up. Every muscle he never had was now present and very defined. The most mind-blowing thing about this was how his pants still seem to fit his new and improved body. Shaking out of my trance I quickly ran up to Steve and gave him a big hug, which he accepted.

"You did it!" I said to him with a proud grin on my face.

"I did it." He panted out, still tired from the procedure.

"How do you feel?" I asked him, keeping my hands to my side so I wouldn't fret over him.

Steve looked around the room before turning his gaze down on me. "Taller." He breathed out.

I giggled.

"Well, you certainly look a lot taller. Gotta get used to having to look up to see your beautiful eyes now." I joked.

He laughed as well. I noticed a nurse who was holding a shirt was looking at Steve with lust in her eyes which made mine narrow at her presence. I quickly grabbed the shirt from her and shooed her off.

"Hope this fits." I said, handing him the shirt.

Steve accepted the shirt from my hands and quickly put it on. "Thanks."

I was just about to excuse myself from him to congratulate Abe when an explosion happened that sent glass showering over us. Steve immediately pushed me down and covered me from the glass.

"Stop him!" I heard Abe yell before a series of gunshots rang through the air.

Quickly getting into action, I got out of Steve's hold and grabbed the gun I carried and shot the man running away. I was happy to see that I hit him in the arm but he still managed to run away. Wasting no time, I ran after him, having to sadly step over the dead woman in the shop. I stood at the center of the street ready to make my shot when a blast happened behind me, distracting me momentarily. Determined not to let the criminal get away, I took my aim and killed the driver with a head shot. Making it easier for me to kill the actual criminal seeing as his car stopped, I was ready to shoot when a body tackled me down to the ground.

"What the hell Steve! I had him!" I growled.

"Sorry!" He cried out before running after the bad guy with tremendous speed.

Seeing as Steve seemed to be able to handle it, I ran back inside and noticed my longtime friend on the ground, dead. My eyes watered as I began to cry for the German scientist. I walked down to where his body lay, blood seeped through his lab coat from his bullet wound. I knelt on the ground, lifting his head to rest on my lap. I stroked him hair as if it would make him feel better. Tears streamed down my face as I mourned for Abraham Erskine. Howard slowly walked over to me and knelt beside me, taking my head and resting it on his shoulder. He wrapped his arms around me comfortingly while whispering soft, comforting words in my ear as I cried.

* * *

 **AN: Thank you for all the kind reviews! I'm really glad all of you are enjoying my story! I understand that I have been vague about Clarissa and her aging thing and other capabilities but it will be explained further on into the story! Thanks again for reading, I hope you enjoyed and see you next week! -E**

 **As for reviews...**

 **-Thanks so much! I am trying really hard to build up their relationship as much as I can because I personally dislike it when characters get together like 2 days after meeting each other. I am very excited to write jealous Steve! I think it'll be really fun!**

 **-Thank you! I'm glad you loved it!**

 **-I guess she might be indestructible and strong then if she can survive the blast, who knows ;P**

 **-I was trying to prolong Clara's time with skinny Steve but seeing as how fast the movie went with him being skinny, there's not much I can do.**


	6. America's New Hope

**Disclaimer: I own nothing you recognize. Only my OC, Agent Clarissa Melanie Connors and her story line belongs to me.**

 **~0~ = little break**

* * *

By the time Steve came back, medics already took away Abe's body from me. I was still in Howard's arms when he came back, dripping wet for some reason. I slowly took Howard's arms off me and walked to Steve hugging him. I needed this right now.

"Clary, wait I'm soaking wet." He protested when I wrapped my arms around his torso.

"I could care less right now." I told him with a sniffle. "Howie, can you go get dry clothes for Steve?" I asked, facing him while trying to dry my tears.

"Yeah, of course Mels. I'll be right back." Howard gave us a sad smile.

Steve finally ignored the fact that his dripping wet clothes were also getting me wet and wrapped his arms around me. Even though his clothes were wet and cold, he was warm and giving off heat.

"I'm sorry about Abe..." He said quietly.

"Yeah... Me too."

Howard finally came back with clothes for Steve and he changed into it and we were off. Apparently Hydra was the one trying to steal the formula. Fortunately that didn't happen because of Steve, but unfortunately, we lost the only sample of the serum. Once we got to the building that held the submarine the Hydra agent tried getting away with, a nurse came to Steve and I.

"Mr. Rogers, Colonel Philips is requesting we take blood samples from you."

Steve and I shared a look and I shrugged and watched as Steve was whisked away by the nurse. I walked over to where Howard was checking out the submarine. He looked very confused and lost.

"What's the matter?" I asked, taking a look at the engine myself.

I know enough about mechanics to build or repair but this was way beyond me, and it seems Howard feels the same.

"Just... tinker around it more, I'm gonna go check on Steve." I told him leaving to go find Steve.

I entered the ward, noticing that the nurse has filled a whole tray of test tubes with his blood. Steve looked very annoyed and done with the blood taking.

"Think you got enough?" He asked the nurse bitterly with a huff.

"I think so." I told the nurse. "Could you leave us please?" I requested.

Once the nurse left with her tray, I stood over by Steve who was fixing the sleeve of his shirt where the needle was inserted.

"The reason why they're taking so much blood is that any hope of recreating the serum at all is locked away in your genetic code." I explained to him. "Without Abe, it would take years for us to succeed."

"He deserved more than this..." He said solemnly.

"I know... but if it could only work once, I know he'd be proud it was you." I told him with a small smile.

"Thanks Clary." Steve said to me with his own smile.

I grabbed his hand making him stand up off the bed and looped my arm through his and lead him back to where Howard was. I saw Chester talking to Senator Brandt about what happened.

"Colonel Phillips, my committee is demanding answers." Brandt said indignantly.

"Great. Why don't we start with how a German spy got a ride to my secret installation in your car?" Chester asked Brandt rhetorically then turned to Howard. "What do we got here?"

Howard took his head out of the engine to look at us.

"Well, speaking modestly, I'm the best mechanical engineer in this country. But I don't know what's inside this thing or how it works, and neither does Mels. We're not even close to this technology." He huffed.

"Then who is?" Brandt asked openly.

"Hydra." I announced.

"I'm sure you've been reading our briefings." Chester asked with a bite.

"I'm on a number of committees, Colonel." Brandt answered annoyed.

"Well, then you should know that Hydra is the Nazi deep-science division. It's led by Johann Schmidt. But he has much bigger ambitions. Hydra is practically a cult. They worship Schmidt. They think he's invincible." I explained to the Senator while rolling my eyes. Invincible my ass.

"So what are you gonna do about it?" Brandt asked Chester.

"Spoke to the President this morning. As of today, the SSR is being retasked." He announced.

"What?" I asked.

"We are taking the fight straight to Hydra. Pack your bags, Clara. You too Stark. We're flying to London tonight."

Howard only nodded and left to do so, but not before looking and waiting for me.

"No, you go ahead. I uh- I wanna say goodbye to Steve." I told Howard.

"Alright, I'll see you in the car."

I nodded and he left.

"Sir? If you're going after Schmidt, I want in." Steve said firmly.

"You? You're an experiment. You're going to Alamorgordo." He told Steve harshly.

"Chester!" I cried indignantly. "The serum clearly worked. Steve could be of help in London." I told him.

"No. I asked for an army and all I got was you. You are not enough." He told Steve sternly.

I could see Steve's shoulders schlump down because of the words Chester said.

"Chester!" I exclaimed, shocked at his words but he just left.

I was about to comfort him and tell him to ignore Chester's bitter words but someone beat me from speaking.

"With all due respect to the Colonel, I think we may be missing the point. I've seen you in action, Steve. More importantly, the country's seen it." Brandt told Steve, asking his assistant for a copy of the newspaper.

Curiously, I looked at the front page and saw it was Steve holding the door of a taxi cab as a shield, wondering how fast reporters were these days to have been able to get that photographed and published already.

"The enlistment lines have been around the block since your picture hit the newsstands." Brandt said excitedly.

"You don't take a soldier, a symbol like that, and hide him in a lab." He put his hand on Steve's shoulder.

"Son, do you want to serve your country on the most important battlefield of the war?" Brandt asked Steve.

I could see Steve contemplating this offer internally before he made up his mind, which made me close my eyes and sigh.

"Sir, that's all I want." He told Brandt seriously.

"Then congratulations, you just got promoted." Brandt told Steve, excitingly shaking his hand before leaving hastily with his assistant.

"Steve... You have to understand this but Senator Brandt isn't helping you help the country, he's helping himself." I said, voicing my concern.

He looked at me with a bitter expression. "Clary, _you_ don't understand, this is better than what Philips would make me do."

"I know, but believe me when I say that you won't be fighting if you go with Brandt." I told him. "The only thing he wants to win is people's attention to get their money."

"He's not war profiteering Clary." Steve defended.

I scoffed. "Are you sure about that?" I asked him rhetorically.

"Look Clary, I'm doing this." Steve told me firmly, holding my gaze.

I let out a frustrating sigh and took hold of Steve's hands.

"Okay, okay. I know whatever I say will just go in one ear and out the other but please, Steve, listen to me when I say to be careful. Not everything is what it seems."

Steve nodded and rubbed his thumb on my hand in a comforting manner.

"I shouldn't be upset at you for this, I'm sorry." He apologized while pulling me in closer to his chest. "I'll be careful, only if you will."

A smile pulled on my lips.

"Don't worry blue eyes, I will." I turned to leave, imagining how bored Howard was in the car waiting for me before Steve called me.

"Clary! I- I'm really glad I met you." He said honestly with a breathtaking smile on his face.

"I'm glad I met you too." I told him with my own smile.

This time before I got a chance to turn around, Steve grabbed my arm. I saw him slightly rocking back and forth with his feet. I sent him a questioning look.

"Um, do you- would you mind if I uh, wrote to you?" He asked, a bit nervous if I say so myself.

"You want to write to me?" I clarified, a bit astounded at his request.

Steve must have taken this the wrong way because he started stammering.

"Oh, I-I'm sorry, that must have been way out of line, you don't have to agree to it, we should just forget I ever asked." He spluttered out.

I just laughed.

"Steve, that's not what I meant!" I told him "I was just shocked you wanted to. No guy has ever asked that to me, but I would love if you wrote to me. I don't know where we're going to be but I'll be sure to send something to Brandt then we'll start from there." I informed him.

"Done deal." Steve said with a smile.

I wrapped my arms around his neck, pulling him into a hug, which he gladly returned.

"Stay safe, Steve. Wouldn't want anything to happen to my favorite now do we?" I whispered in his ear.

"Of course Clary." He replied back.

I let him go and turned to go but not without waving a final goodbye.

~0~

"Sorry I took so long Howie." I apologized immediately once I got in the car.

"Don't worry about it Mels, I understand that you had to say your goodbyes to lover boy over there." He said.

I rolled my eyes at the lover boy part but otherwise stayed silent, replaying all that has happened today.

"You alright Mels? How are you coping with the whole Abe thing?" He asked cautiously.

"I'm 103 years old Howard, I've seen plenty of deaths and you'd think I'd be used to it by now, but it still hurts every time..." I smiled bitterly, scoffing.

"Mels, I don't think it would be a good thing if you got used to deaths... Everything's going to be fine, you'll pull through like you always do." Howard told me, putting his hand over mine in a comforting manner.

"Think about something happy you know, be positive!" He advised me.

I scrunched my nose at that. I'm not a very positive or optimistic person, although I have been smiling a lot not thanks to Steve.

"C'mon Mels, for me?" He pouted his lips in a playful manner which made me chuckle.

"Fine, I'll be more positive Howie, only for you." I said with a smile, though thinking in my head how hard that would be.

~0~

To my surprise, it wasn't that hard to be a bit happier than usual. Once I got around to sending Steve a letter, that's where my happiness revolved around. Imagine my reaction to when Steve wrote to me saying what he was doing for Brandt, being "America's New Hope" and all. Much to his dismay, Steve wasn't doing anything while being Captain America. I wrote a satisfying _I told you so_ in my next letter to him but then told him that I wasn't doing anything either besides filing files. Chester denied my request in joining the 107th in their mission to infiltrate a Hydra base. I was in a pretty bad mood for the rest of that day until Howard managed to get me a poster of Steve in his Captain America outfit which made me laugh so much. That poster now sits hidden in my trunk. He also told me that he was coming to our base the next day, which made me really excited.

* * *

Howard and I watched Steve try to get the crowd of soldiers to participate in his show under a tent, shielding myself from the London rain.

"Now how many of you are ready to help me sock old Adolf on the jaw?" He asked the soldiers expectantly, though nobody answered.

"Ok... I need a volunteer." He said to the audience.

"We already volunteered! How do you think we got here?" A soldier shouted rudely at Steve.

The men laughed at their fellow.

"Bring back the girls!" Another one yelled, causing the rest to yell in agreement.

"I think they only know the one song, but... Let me... I'll see what I can do." Steve told the guys, looking back.

"Nice boots Tinkerbell!" Hodge shouted which made me narrow my eyes, very annoyed that he was here.

"Ugh I hate him." I told Howard who only laughed.

"Hey, Captain! Sign this!" A soldier yelled, standing on the bench, pulling his pants and underwear down showing his ass.

The men rioted once more before continuing to demand for the girls again and Steve finally gave in. I saw him exit the stage and leave my eyesight.

"Go."

I turned to look at Howard who was just nudging me towards where Steve went.

"Go, I won't tell." He told me winking making me smile.

"Thanks Howie. You're the best." I told him gratefully with a kiss on the cheek before running off, lifting my coat and putting it over my head so I wouldn't get that wet.

"You know I am!" He yelled after me, making me shake my head and laugh.

* * *

 _(Steve's POV)_

I heaved a sigh when I came off stage. The stage manager came up to greet me, pulling me aside so I wouldn't block the girls who were frantically trying to get back on stage.

"Don't worry, pal. They'll warm up to you. Don't worry." He assured me but I brushed it off.

Grabbing my coat and sketch pad, I took a seat on one of the crates under a tent and drew. I flipped through my very worn out sketch pad and stopped at a drawing of Clary I drew a few days back. Smiling softly, I turned to a new page and started sketching a monkey on a unicycle wearing a uniform that was similar to mine. It was like I was drawing how I felt right now. A familiar voice interrupted my sketching.

"Hello Steve."

I immediately looked up, hearing the familiar voice that I have missed.

"Clary! Hi." I said shocked but still smiled widely.

She looked beautiful, even slightly wet from the pouring rain. Her light brown hair that would have reached to her torso but is slightly starting to curl because it was dampened by the rain. Even though she did come from the rain, her makeup stayed intact, her green eyes seemingly larger because of her black eyeliner and the beautiful red lipstick coating her delicate lips that was turned up into a smile showing her teeth.

"Hi, what are you doing here?" I asked her as she took a seat on a crate beside me.

"Well, officially I'm not here at all. That performance was... something huh?" She asked with a teasing tone.

I breathed a laugh "Yeah... Had to improvise a little there. Usually my crowds are more... 12"

She laughed softly.

"From what you've told me you're "America's New Hope" now right?" She asked.

"Bonds sales take a ten percent bump in every state I visit." I recited tiredly.

"You have been around Senator Brandt way too much." She joked which made me laugh bitterly.

"Still, at least he's got me doing this. You heard Philips back then; he would have stuck me in a lab." I told her.

She tilted her head and said "And those are your only options? A lab rat or a dancing monkey?"

Clary gestured towards my drawing.

"You were meant for more than this you know..." She said honestly.

I sat there in silence thinking about what she said and what I've been doing for the past few weeks.

I could feel her looking at me curiously before she spoke.

"What?" She asked, pushing me to speak my mind.

"You know, for the longest time, I dreamed about...coming overseas and being on the front lines, serving my country. I finally got everything I wanted...and I'm wearing tights." I finished off lamely.

Clary opened her mouth to speak but before she could, car honks distracted both of us. We saw medical people aid the injured from the truck that came in.

"They look like they've been through hell." I commented, noticing how bad they looked.

Clary nodded.

"These men more than most. Schmidt sent out a force to Azzano. Two hundred men went up against him, and less than 50 returned." She informed me.

"Your audience contained what was left of the rest were killed or captured."

That caught my attention and right away, I stood up, her following in suit.

"The 107th? Clary, are you sure?" I asked her frantically.

She looked confused at my sudden distress but said, "Yes, Steve I'm sure. I wanted to go with them but Chester declined."

I quickly grabbed Clary's wrist and pulled her towards the Colonel's tent.

"Wait, Steve! What's wrong?" She asked me but still running as I dragged her.

All I said was one name that made her run as fast as I was.

 _Bucky._

* * *

 **AN: Wow! Two surprises today! An early update _and_ I added a Steve POV! I just realized that I never really described Clara before so I hope that gave some of you a picture of how she looks. I don't have an actress in mind when I picture Clara to be honest so I'm just as lost as you guys, I just put together a bunch of characteristics that I liked! But if you have any suggestions as to who she might remind you of, feel free to tell me! Also a big thank you to all who reviewed! I am getting such positive reviews and it's what's keeping me going! Once again thank you for reading! Since I'm about two chapters ahead of myself, I will post another on Monday as usual so follow/fave this story to be alerted! -E**


	7. Captain America

**Disclaimer: I own nothing you recognize. Only my OC, Agent Clarissa Melanie Connors, and her story line belongs to me.**

* * *

It didn't take long for Steve and I to reach the tent Chester was in. Once we were covered by the rain, Steve took the lead, still dragging me by the hand and made our way to Chester.

"Colonel Philips," Steve said, announcing his presence.

"Well, if it isn't the Star Spangled Man with a Plan. What is your plan today?" He asked once he noticed us.

"I need the casualty list from Azzano." Steve all but demanded from him.

"You don't get to give me orders, son," Chester told him firmly.

"Chester please, we just need a name," I asked him.

"Clary's right sir, Sergeant James Barnes from the 107th. B-A-R-"

"I can spell," Chester cut Steve off annoyed.

Chester looked at me over Steve's shoulders and said " You and I are gonna have a conversation later that you won't enjoy."

I nodded but rolled my eyes. He stood up from his table, a stack of deceased letters in his hands.

"I've signed more of these condolence letters today than I would care to count, but the name does sound familiar. I'm sorry." Chester said with a sigh.

Steve's entire demeanor sags and I couldn't help but feel sorry for him.

"What about the rest of the men? Aren't you gonna rescue them?" Steve asked.

"Yeah, it's called winning the war!"

"But if you know where they are, why not at least send-" Steve protested, but Chester cut him off.

"They're 30 miles behind the lines through some of the most heavily fortified territory in Europe. We'd lose more men than we'd save. But I don't expect you to understand that because you're a chorus girl." Chester insulted Steve.

I narrowed my eyes at Chester, having enough of his attitude.

"I think you and I are going to have a conversation _you_ won't like later," I told him angrily.

"I think I understand just fine." Steve defended himself.

"If I read the posters correctly, you got some place to be in 30 minutes," Chester informed him with his back turned.

Steve took his time studying the map of Europe that showed where the Hydra camps were.

"Yes, sir. I do," Steve said before turning to leave.

 _Please tell me he's not gonna do what I think he's gonna do..._

Chester interrupted my thoughts by saying "If you have something to say, right now is the perfect time to keep it to yourself."

"You bet your ass I have something to say! We will talk about this later," I told him seriously.

I ran to follow Steve, finding him in his tent, frantically packing things in a bag.

"What do you plan to do Steve? Walk to Austria?" I asked him sarcastically.

"If that's what it takes," He said.

I sighed not wanting to say what I was going to. I followed him out of his tent to an unmanned jeep outside.

"Look Steve... Maybe Chester's right, Bucky's most like dead," I said to him sadly.

"You don't know that, Clary." He protested.

"Chester's probably formulating a plan as we speak. If he finds out that-"

"By the time he does that, it could be too late!" Steve all but shouted at me as he stuffed his bag and shield in the back of the jeep.

"Steve..." I said softly.

"You told me you thought I was meant for more than this... Did you mean that?" Steve asked me, eyes shining with hope and determination.

I looked at him for a moment before a smile made its way onto my face.

"You know I did," I told him honestly.

"Then you gotta let me go." He said, jumping in the jeep, starting the engine.

An idea popped into my head and I grabbed his arm before he could take off.

"Wait!" I exclaimed "I can do one better." I said to him.

"Grab your stuff and meet me at my tent," I told him. "I'll be quick! I just have to find Howard!"

I ran around the base for a few minutes before spotting Howard talking to some of the showgirls. Without hesitation, I ran over to them and dragged him somewhere more private so we could talk.

"Mels what the hell? Where are we going?" He asked but still didn't try to escape my grasp.

After we got to a more secluded part of the base I looked around once more before talking.

"Okay, how do you feel about aiding a secret mission and being a badass?" I asked smirking.

Howard mirrored my smirk "Oh, I would be delighted to help. Anything for you Mels."

He winked at me cheekily, making me roll my eyes.

"So what exactly am I supposed to do?" Howard asked as we walked to my tent where Steve was.

"Just fly us out to Austria with your plane and that's it," I told him casually.

" _Us_? Who's us?" He asked, not protesting about helping which made me sigh in relief.

The two of us reached my tent and I opened the flap revealing Steve anxiously pacing in it. I turned to look at Howard and said "Us."

"Alright. Let's get this show on the road!" Howard said enthusiastically.

~0~

We were now on our way to the Hydra camp, Steve and I discussing where he's going to land and tactics while Howard piloted the plane.

"The Hydra camp is in Kreuzberg, tucked between these two mountain ranges. It's a factory of some kind." I informed Steve, showing him on a map I took.

"We should be able to drop you off right on the doorstep!" Howard yelled over the wind.

"Just get me as close as you can!" Steve yelled.

"You know, you two are gonna be in a lot of trouble when you land." He said, looking at me.

"And you won't be?" I retorted.

"Where I'm going, if anybody yells at me I can just shoot 'em," He said smartly.

"Well, I am willing to do that when I get back. Chester needs an attitude check. And don't get smart with me blue eyes! You know they'll shoot back as well." I told him.

Steve tapped his shield that was resting next to him.

"Let's hope this is good for something."

"Hey, Mels! If we're not too much in a hurry, I thought we could stop off in Lucerne for a late-night fondue." Howard yelled jokingly.

"How about we wait till we get back yeah?" I joked back, rolling my eyes.

Steve gave us a look.

"Look, Howard's the best civilian pilot I've ever seen. He's mad enough to fly us there so we're lucky to have him." I explained, ignoring the look.

"So are you two? Do you...fondue?" Steve asked, stammering.

I raised an eyebrow at him not knowing why he was confused as to why Howard and I fondue. I mean, it's just cheese and bread, it's very delicious. Howard noticed my liking to it so we have it a lot.

"Yeah, we actually do it a lot. We actually had some on the day we recruited you," I told Steve.

Steve's eyes flashed with jealousy and hurt but I don't know why.

"The three of us could do it when you get back if you want?" I offered to Steve which only caused him to turn bright red and shake his head.

I looked at him questioningly, wondering why he was acting this way.

"Alright," I said ignoring him behavior "This is your transponder. Activate it when you're ready and the signal will lead us straight to you." I explained to him.

"Are you sure this thing will work?" He asked us.

"It's been tested more than you pal," Howard told him cheekily.

Gunshots rang throughout the air, no doubt hitting the plane. Steve quickly took his shield and opened the door. He sat down preparing to jump.

"Get back here! We're taking you all the way in!" I yelled at him over the wind.

"As soon as I'm clear, you turn this thing around  
and get the hell out of here!" Steve shouted back.

"You can't give me orders!" I exclaimed.

"The hell I can't! I'm a captain!" He said.

Before he could jump out I grabbed onto his arm and gave him a kiss on the cheek for good luck.

"You come back to me in one piece blue eyes, you hear me?" I said to him.

"You got it Clary."

Then Steve jumped off, me staying near the door until I saw his chute. I closed the door and took a deep breath.

"He's good." I told Howard who then turned the plane around.

"You alright Mels?" Howard asked me.

I took in more breaths, repeating _He's gonna be fine_ in my head before answering.

"I will be."

~0~

Almost a day has passed since we heard from Steve. I was sitting at Chester's desk, my legs crossed to stop myself from tapping or shaking my legs, knowing it has annoyed Chester for the past 5 hours. Once we landed, I immediately took a seat on his desk with the device that lets us know if Steve needed us to get him. not letting Chester have a chance to yell at me. Although he did yell at Howard who only responded with an _It's Mels, you know I'll do anything for her_ which made me smile at Howard. Chester let him off the hook after that. The more hours passed the more I couldn't help but think that I lead Steve Rogers, Captain America, to his death.

I crossed my arms and leaned back on the chair as I listened to Chester write a letter to Senator Brandt about what happened.

"Senator Brandt, I regret to report that Captain Steven G. Rogers went missing behind enemy lines on the third. Aerial reconnaissance has proven unfruitful. As a result, I must declare Captain Rogers...killed in action. Period." He ended.

"The last surveillance flight is back. No sign of activity." Chester informed me, giving me aerial photos to look at.

"Go get a cup of coffee, corporal," He ordered the man.

The corporal left with a quiet yes sir.

"They can't touch Stark. He's rich. And he's the Army's number one weapons contractor. You are neither one. But then again, they don't know your whole story," Chester told me.

"You know as well as I do that I don't and will not regret what I did, Chester." I told him quietly. "And I know Steve doesn't either."

I looked up at him to see him looking down at me with a sad look in his eyes.

"I understand what you did Clara, but you know they won't. All they're gonna see is how you helped kill America's golden boy and a lot of good men as well, just because you had a crush," He told me.

I winced at the implications that Steve was dead.

"I didn't help him because of that," I said to Chester, ignoring the fact that I agreed that I did have a crush on Steve "I helped him because I had faith, something you people seem to lack."

I got to my feet, not wanting to be looked at with pity because of how said I was. Chester just shook his head at what I said.

"Well I hope you have enough faith to comfort you when they shut this division down."

I rolled my eyes at him.

"They're not gonna shut this division down. I mean..."

I trailed off, getting distracted by the bustling men outside.

"What the hell is going on out there?" I yelled.

"Hey look who it is!" I heard a man shout as I went out to see all the men huddled around the entrance of the camp, Chester following behind me.

There was a whole parade of soldiers down the road walking towards the camp. The familiar blue helmet and shield leading the men caught my eye making me smile for the first time in the past 10 hours. Chester made his way past me as Steve walked up to him.

"Some of these men need medical attention," Steve stated. "I'd also like to surrender myself for disciplinary actions."

I elbowed Chester in the side which made him look over to me, a smirk on my face.

"That won't be necessary." He told Steve.

"Yes sir." Steve spit out, looking a bit shocked he got away with what he did.

Chester turned to leave but not without saying "Faith huh?"

I smiled at him and patted his shoulders before walking over to Steve who was talking to a few of the men.

"Look who decided to show up," I said loud enough for him to hear "You're late," I informed him

Steve looked at me, amusement dancing in his eyes and help up a very broken transponder.

"Couldn't call my ride," He said with a smile.

I laughed and wrapped my arms around his neck, his arms automatically winding themselves on my waist.

"Thank you for coming back," I whispered in his ear.

"You know I'll always come back to you Clary," He responded, this time it was him who kissed me on the cheek.

"Hey! Let's hear it for Captain America!" A man said, starting the applause.

"Welcome back, Captain," I said to Steve with a smile.

"It's good to be back," He said.

~0~

We were in the Operations Room, everyone was busy doing something. I was watching Steve mark places on a map of where the Hydra camps were. He was dressed in his new suit, being promoted to an actual Captain and he looked impeccable in it.

"The fifth one was here in Poland right near the Baltic. And the sixth one was...about here, 30, 40 miles west of the Maginot Line." He drew crosses on the places before the map was taken away.

Steve looked up at me with a sheepish smile and shrugged his shoulders.

"I just got a quick look."

I snorted, very unlady like.

"Well, nobody's perfect, right blue eyes?" I teased.

We joined Chester and Steve relayed more information to him.

"These are the weapon factories we know about. Sergeant Barnes said that Hydra shipped all the parts to another facility that isn't on this map," He informed Chester.

"Agent Connors, coordinate with MI-6. I want every Allied eyeball looking for that main Hydra base," He ordered me to do.

I nodded. "What about us? What are we gonna do?" I asked him.

Chester smirked at me. "We are gonna set a fire under Johann Schmidt's ass."

A curly blonde haired assistant handed him a stack of folders before he looked at Steve.

"What do you say Rogers? It's your map, think you can wipe Hydra off it?"

Steve glanced over the map that everyone seemed to be fussing over. With a look of determination he turned to Chester.

"Yes sir, but I'll need a team," Steve stated.

"We're already putting together the best men,." Chester told him, glancing at me.

"With all due respect sir, so am I," Steve said pointedly.

Chester raised an eyebrow at him before looking over to me as if to say _Do you know who they are?_ But I only shrugged and shook my head, not knowing who they are.

"Fine, but only if Clara's part of it," Chester allowed, making me look at him shocked.

"She was the first on my list." Steve told him before looking at me and flashing me a smile, until he realized how rude that must have sounded.

"Well, un-unless you don't want to, I mean I-I was going to ask you Clary..." He stuttered shyly, making me smile.

"Of course I'll be part of it blue eyes," I told him with a reassuring smile.

Steve kissed my cheek before excusing himself to talk with the people in his dream team, leaving me with Chester. I sighed, making him look at me with concern.

"What's wrong? Having second thoughts about following your guy to the front lines?" He asked.

"A lot of things could go wrong," I confessed, "I don't want him to find out about me in the worst possible situation."

"Well, make sure everything goes right so he won't have to," Chester told me firmly, leaving no room to argue.

He gave me a comforting squeeze on the arm before leaving me to my thoughts.

* * *

 **AN: So as promised, here's the Monday update! I hope those who have been reviewing saying they can't wait for jealous Steve enjoyed this chapter and not to worry! More jealous Steve is on the way! Once again, thank you for all the reviews! See you next week! -E**


	8. Jealousy

**Disclaimer: I own nothing you recognize. Only my OC, Agent Clarissa Melanie Connors, and her story line belongs to me.**

* * *

I entered Howard's lab, trying to avoid all the clutter around me as I walked up to him playing around with some of the weapons Steve and the soldiers brought from the Hydra camp.

"How's it looking?" I asked once I was close enough to him.

Howard was fiddling with some type of gun before looking up and answering me.

"Well, just like that submarine, very advanced technology. This thing doesn't even fire bullets! It's core is this weird blue power source... I think I'll crack it open tomorrow. We've had a long two days." He sighed tiredly.

"Why don't you go out, do something fun tonight Mels." He said to me, looking less tired.

I raised an eyebrow at him "What did you have in mind?"

"Well, I got you this a week ago, thought it would look really good on you."

Howard pulled out a white box from under his desk and opened it. I peered inside to see a beautiful, dark blue dress sitting elegantly in the box.

"Oh, Howard, it's beautiful!" I said to him, slowly taking it out of the box.

It was a short dress, shorter than most dresses nowadays. It would end up just a bit above my knees. It was fit from the top until it hit my waist, which then the skirt flowed out gracefully. The dress had a v-neckline which showed a modest amount of chest. All in all, it complimented my body.

"A little birdie told me a certain Captain is in the pub right now talking to his new team. Thought I would give you a chance to dress up and go to the pub to wind down." Howard informed me with a smirk.

"Well, thank you, Howie. Will I be seeing you later? We could have a romantic dinner tonight, maybe have that fondue?" I joked.

Howard laughed.

"I'll wear my suit. I'll see you there."

I put the dress back in the box, ready to go to my place to get ready before Howard called me back.

"Hey, Mels! Can you tell the Captain to be here tomorrow at 0800? I want him to try on a few items." He said.

I rolled my eyes "You're going there anyways, why not tell him yourself?"

He smiled at me sheepishly "I might forget."

"Fine, I'll see you later. Thank you again for the dress Howie." I told him, smiling genuinely and gave him a kiss on the cheek.

~0~

I stood outside of the pub, the music and chatter of people can be heard from here. I smooth down the front of my dress and fixed my hair, leaving it down in its waves.

When I entered the pub, all talking and music stopped. Everyone's eyes were on me, but the only pair of eyes I was looking for were that beautiful blue ones. Steve and his friend Bucky were immersed in a conversation near the door and only looked up when the pub became quiet.

Once Steve and I made eye contact he immediately stood up, his eyes leaving mine to look me over. I walked up to the two men, making eye contact with Steve once more.

"Captain." I greeted Steve with a smirk.

"Clary..." Steve responded with a small smile.

He just stared at me for a few seconds, cussing in my head because he made me blush. I coughed slightly to wake him from his stare.

"You gonna introduce me properly to your friend, Steve?" I asked, looking over at the man behind him.

"Oh, right, uh Bucky this is Agent Clarissa Connors; Clary, this is Sergeant James Barnes or Bucky," Steve introduced.

"Ma'am." Bucky greeted, nodding at me.

"Sergeant." I politely returned.

I looked around the pub, noticing and recognizing some of the men that were drinking. They were the soldiers Steve rescued from the Hydra camp.

"So, Steve," I said looking back at him "Howard has some equipment for you to try."

"Tomorrow morning?" He asked and I nodded.

"Yeah, he said that we've had a long two days so we deserved a break," I said to him.

"Sounds good," Steve replied.

"I see your top squad is prepping for duty," I stated, a smile on my face.

"You don't like music?" Bucky asked me.

"I do, actually. I plan to go dancing with a certain soldier when this is all over," I told Bucky though my eyes are on Steve's.

"Why wait till then? I'm ready right now. What do you say?" Bucky flirted with me.

I looked at Steve to see him glaring at his friend. I laughed to myself.

"I'm sorry Sarge, but I already have the right partner in mind," I apologized, looking directly at Steve.

Steve smiled widely at me which I gladly returned.

"Mels!"

I looked back at the door to see Howard dressed up nicely in his suit. He walked over to us, greeting the two men with a nod and myself with a kiss.

"You ready? I got the room all set up for our dinner and fondue night," Howard informed me.

I nodded at him, turning back to Steve and Bucky for a final goodnight when I noticed that Steve had turned his glare from Bucky to Howard. I was confused as to why Howard deserved that glare from him.

I gently touched Steve's arm making his eyes soften.

"Steve are you alright?" I asked gently.

He looked at me for a moment before smiling slightly "Yeah... Yeah, I'm fine Clary."

I didn't want to push on it so I left it alone.

"Alright, Howie and I will head out now. Gentlemen enjoy your evening but not too much, can't fight Hydra agents while being drunk off your asses right?" I told them, earning a chuckle from both soldiers.

Howard grabbed my arm and started going towards the door.

"C'mon Mels, I'm hungry let's go!" He grumbled.

"0800, Captain!" I reminded Steve as I was dragged off my Howard towards the door.

"Yes, ma'am. I'll be there." I heard Steve answer right before I left.

* * *

Dinner with Howard was wonderful last night. We definitely needed that night off. Fondue is literally my favorite thing on this Earth. It was a lovely evening and I was thankful for Howard for setting it up. Now it's time to work again. He figured out how to get the blue core out of the guns to inspect it. Right now I was watching Howard who was wearing safety goggles, playing around with the core that was safely inside a glass box.

"Emission signature is unusual. Alpha and beta ray neutral. Though I doubt Rogers picked up on that." Howard informed me, as I was writing down things about the core.

"Seems harmless enough. Hard to see what all the fuss is about." Howard said aloud, planning to touch the core with his mechanical tweezers.

"Umm, Howard, I don't think that's a good-"

I was cut off by the blast that came from the core. Howard and I were thrown back by the power surge. Broken glass rained on us from the box. I groaned as I sat up. I brushed the glass that covered me and helped Howard. Any cuts that I got from the blast healed itself at a rapid pace.

"Are you alright Howie?" I asked him, helping him sit up.

I looked up at the rest of the people in the lab "Is everyone alright?"

All the scientists nodded their heads as a yes.

"Howard are you good?" I asked him again.

He just looked at me shocked.

"Write that down Mels." He told be, slurring a bit.

I rolled my eyes.

"Will someone take over, I'm going to check if Steve's here." I announced, handing someone my clipboard. "And grab an ice pack for Howard, please!"

I exit the lab, going to the main room where I expected Steve to be when I saw something that made my heart break. It was undoubtedly Steve, his physique alone told me that, but the shocking thing was that he had his back turned from me, fully making out with a blonde assistant. His arms were rested upon her arm while the other one was on her waist. I composed myself, masking my face.

"Captain!" I snapped, surprising both of them out of their kiss.

"We're ready for you unless you're occupied with something, then I suppose we can reschedule." I sassed, turning around.

"Clary, wait!" Steve called, panic clear in his voice.

"I guess I need to find a new partner considering mine just bailed out." I spoke harshly, still not looking at him as I made my way back to the lab.

"Clary, it's not what you think, trust me." Steve pleaded.

"Oh, I don't think a damn thing, Captain, not a damn thing." I spat out. "You always wanted to be a soldier right? Now you are, just like every one of them. Let me guess, your new best friend is Hodge right?" I asked sarcastically.

The next thing he said made my blood boil.

"Well, what about you and Stark huh? Just yesterday you two were fondue-ing!" Steve accused me, trying to defend himself.

I stopped walking and looked at him, curiously wondering why he kept bringing up about Howard and I fondue-ing when suddenly it made sense. Dear lord. I narrowed my eyes at him and what he was insinuating between Howard and I. Howard's my best friend for goodness sake! I mean if someone were to look at us they would think we were an item, but that's just how we are. He and I are just very comfortable with each other, purely platonic.

"I guess now we know that the serum didn't affect your IQ. I'll make a mental note to change that. Here I thought you finally knew something about women. Guess I was wrong." I told him spitefully.

I entered the lab with a fierce look on my face, the scientist made way for me, afraid they'll be on the receiving end of my glare. I even glared at Howard, making him gulp and wonder what he did wrong for him to be glared at. I'll apologize to him later. I busied myself with the scientist who continued my work for me.

"Did you write down what Howard said?" I asked.

"Yes, ma'am. I even took the liberty of adding a few things I noticed when the explosion happened." He told me.

"Alright, that's good. I'll file this away with the other notes." I told him.

The scientist briefly looked towards where Howard and Steve were in the room.

"Looks like Captain America's getting a new shield." He informed me.

I rolled my eyes still annoyed at Steve.

"Okay, I'll just file this. Can you get someone to clean up this mess?" I asked the scientist, gesturing to the broken glass that was still on the floor.

"Yes, ma'am, right away."

I nodded and left the scientist, sighing as I realized I have to pass the two men on my way to the file room. Planning on ignoring the two, I winced internally when Steve called my name.

"Clary, wait! What do you think?" He asked me, seeming as though nothing went wrong between us.

He held up the polished vibranium shield with a smile on his face. My eyes went from him to Howard who looked at me as if saying _play nice_ but I rolled my eyes. My hand glanced down at a table near me, guns lying on in. My hand found itself wrapped around one and fired at Steve who had the sense to cover himself with the shield. After firing 3-4 rounds, I set the gun down. Everyone looked at me with a mixture of shock and thankfulness; shocked that I would do that and thankful because I knew that the bullets wouldn't ricochet off the shield and possibly hit one of them.

"Hmm, I think it works just fine."

And with that I left to go file my notes.

* * *

 **AN: I just went to a concert tonight and I am in a very good mood, and to express my happiness I decided to update early again! This is sort of a two-part chapter. Originally it was just a full chapter but since I'm updating early I decided to split it to still be on track with my writing schedule. I know a lot of you guys have been waiting for jealous Steve and loved him in the previous chapter so here you go! A whole chapter that basically revolves around jealousy! The next part to this chapter will be posted on Monday as usual! Thank you for all the lovely and positive reviews! Make sure to follow/fave to be alerted! Hope to see you guys on Monday! -E**


	9. Apologies

**Disclaimer: I own nothing you recognize. Only my OC, Agent Clarissa Melanie Connors and her story line belongs to me.**

* * *

"C'mon Mels, you know he's sorry." Howard told me.

We were in the lab talking about what Steve did... again. He told me that Steve didn't know that fondue was just cheese and bread and in return I told him that I knew that fact but it was too late, Steve already did the damage.

"He was kissing her Howard, and by the looks of it, he wouldn't have stopped if I didn't interrupt them." I told him angrily, crossing my arms as I paced back and forth in front of him.

"And how dare he think there was something going on between us!? Us! You're my best friend for heaven's sake! He was like _'What about you and Stark huh? You two were just fondue-ing last night.'_ " I mocked him as best as I could, deepening my voice.

I looked at him apologetically, "I am sorry about treating you the way I did."

"Mels, it's fine but will you relax and stop pacing! You're making me dizzy." Howard said.

"I already explained to him that there was nothing going on between us in that way. You should've seen the way he reacted after I told him. Looked like he regretted putting up that shield."

Howard smirked and laughed. I, on the other hand, sighed. I took Howard's advice and sat down on a chair.

"Why am I doing this Howard?"

"Well, I told you I was getting dizzy, so you listened to me and sat-"

" _Not_ sitting," I said, rolling my eyes "This, with Steve?"

"You just got attached Mels, and I'm not saying it's a bad thing. I told you, it's good to indulge yourself in these feelings. Remember when you would've just punched a guy for disrespecting you? I kind of missed that Mel." Howard said with a laugh.

Howard's laugh made me laugh as well.

"I miss her too." I told him.

"Maybe you two just need to talk things out. Or yell at him. I know you always feel better after yelling at someone, well at least you used to." Howard offered.

I paused to think about that and perhaps consider doing it before I realized how bad that would end.

"He'd probably get scared if I, of all people, yell at him. He's never seen me mad, even today that wasn't even me mad, just annoyed."

Howard nodded in agreement. I tensed when I notice Howard look over my shoulder. Fearing it was Steve, I felt my shoulders tense then relax again when the person spoke.

"Excuse me, Agent Connors? Can I speak with you for a moment?"

I turned around to see Bucky there looking timid. I heard Howard move from his spot, making me look at him.

"I'll see you later Mels." He said, kissing my temple before leaving.

I stood up from my chair and crossed my arms again, "Can I help you with something, Sergeant Barnes?" I snipped.

Bucky gulped, scared of my tone of voice before clearing his throat.

"I came here on behalf of Steve- or uh Captain Rogers I mean..." He trailed off seeing the harsh look on my face.

"I do hope it's not to apologize on behalf of him because then he is just digging himself deeper in that hole." I told him.

"No! No of course I'm not here to apologize, Steve's not that kind of guy." Bucky told me, defending his childhood friend.

"And exactly what kind of guy is Steve Rogers?" I asked him.

"He's definitely not the guy you're making him out to be right now that's for sure." Bucky retorted.

I sighed, sitting down once more, letting my guard down.

"How long have you two been friends?" I asked him quietly.

"Since we were kids." Bucky told me.

"And I take it he told you what happened?"

He nodded.

"Tell me," I ordered him to do "I didn't get a chance to let him explain. My anger gets the best of me at times."

Bucky nodded like he understood what I meant before diving into the story.

"The dame caught him off guard, and Steve being Steve, didn't know what to do. He's not really great with women you know?"

"Oh, do I know it." I told him humorously.

"He's fairly new to all the attention he's getting considering he's Captain America now." Bucky continued.

"I figured as much, but he's comfortable around me." I stated.

Bucky let out a sigh.

"Don't tell him I told you this alright," I nodded urging him to continue "He told me you're the first woman to look at him for him, even before and after the serum. He's comfortable around you because you noticed him. To put it simply, Agent Connors, Steve likes you. Quite smitten actually by how he's reacting." Bucky confessed.

I was shocked. I didn't know what to say, I mean Howard always teased me about Steve, but this is coming from a guy who actually knows him!

I cleared my throat "So let me get this straight, you're not apologizing right?" I clarified.

Bucky shook his head "No, just testing the waters. Steve wanted me to check if you were still mad, the guy's too chicken to see for himself. Told me to send you out if you're not mad anymore"

I laughed with Bucky and paused for a while, contemplating if I should go out to talk to him or not.

"Ma'am, please. If I have to hear him practice his speech one more time I think I'm gonna have to drag him out to the front lines myself and leave him there."

I chuckled.

"He's really sorry huh?" I asked.

"Really, really sorry. Trust me" Bucky said.

I bit my bottom lip, still thinking about what I should do until I looked at Bucky's pleading eyes and stood up from my chair "Fine, I'll talk to him."

I heard Bucky cheer a quiet _Yes!_ under his breath.

"He's outside, sitting on the steps moping. Thank you, Agent Connors." He said.

Before heading out I turned around and said, "It's Clara."

Bucky looked confused, "I'm sorry?"

"My friends call me Clara." I smiled at him and he returned it.

"Thank you, Clara."

* * *

My steps thundered in the quiet base, turning into much lighter footsteps when I reached the exit of the building, the sounds of the England streets deafening it. Steve's shoulders slumped down when he heard my footsteps. I saw that he had a bouquet of red roses in his hand. Not even turning around, he started speaking, his voice sounding defeated.

"She's still mad isn't she Bucky?" He asked. "Ugh, how could I have been so stupid? The one woman that might actually like me and I let her go. What am I supposed to do Buck? I didn't even get a chance to apologize, but I understand, if I were her I wouldn't let me. I just want to clear things up and try to fix it. I really like her Buck, honest. I don't know what I'll do if she doesn't speak to me or look at me... The only time she did was when she had a gun pointed at me..."

I snorted making Steve turn around.

"C-Clary!" Steve said, startled "I thought you were Bucky." He explained, blushing profusely.

"I realized." I told him with a smirk.

I eyed the roses he was holding.

"Are those for Bucky as well?" I joked.

He looked down at his hand "W-what? No, they're... uh, they're for you."

Steve took cautious steps towards me.

"You don't happen to have a gun with you, do you?" He asked, panicked, making me chuckle.

"No, I left it on my desk." I humored him.

Steve's hand stretched out towards me, handing me the roses. I looked at them with mock dislike.

"You do know I'm allergic to roses, Steve." I told him.

The look of alarm on his face was priceless. He instantly started stammering.

"What? B-but Howard came out and told me they were your favorite! I-I'm so sorry Clary, I didn't know, I didn't mean to..." Steve looked like he wanted nothing more than to run and hide. I decided to let him out of his misery and crack a smile and laugh.

"Steve! I'm joking, relax." I said, taking the flowers from him and inhaling the sweet scent the roses give off.

"Howard's right these are my favorite flowers, despite how clichéd they are so thank you, these are lovely." I told him with a genuine smile on my face.

Steve let out a deep sigh before the corners of his mouth turned up. He cleared his throat making me look at him.

"What?" I questioned.

He laughed and looked down at his feet, embarrassed. "I uh, had this whole speech ready, been practicing it in front of Bucky the whole day, but now that you're here, my mind is completely blank."

I smiled at him "Yeah, he mentioned it when he talked to me."

He looked up when I said that. "Bucky actually talked you? Like you conversed?"

"I think that's what talking means, Cap." I told him with a laugh. "You might want to thank him later if I were you. If it weren't for him I wouldn't be out here right now."

"I will." He told me, nodding.

"Speech!" I reminded him, "C'mon, blue eyes, give it your best shot!"

"I just wanted to start off with I'm sorry. I'm really sorry Clary, I'm not gonna make up an excuse like I know I should've stopped or I did try to push her off me because I didn't and I'm sorry for that. I'm going to own up to my mistakes because that's the only thing I can do right now. I am so sorry, Clary. I didn't mean to hurt you, at all." He looked like he was about to cry.

I smiled, very touched by his apology. "That was a pretty good impromptu speech, I must say."

He laughed, though still slightly wary of what I'm going to say.

"She came onto you didn't she? And you just froze and got caught up in the moment... and I was the inconsiderate one for not letting you explain." I finished with a sad sigh.

Steve's eyes widened at what I said and quickly grabbed my hand for assurance.

"No! No, of course you weren't inconsiderate, Clary! I completely understand why you wouldn't. I'm sorry, I'm just really sorry about everything. So sorry!"

This continued on for too long so I just pressed my lips on Steve's cheek, in hopes to make him stop.

Steve was stunned by my actions.

"Steve, you're fine. All is forgiven." I told him before putting on a mock serious face again "But if you imply that something other than a friendship is happening between Howard and I, you best keep your shield around you at all times."

He only nodded. "Stark already explained everything to me. I'm sorry that I assumed what I did."

I sighed and shook my head "Enough apologies, I already forgave you."

"Sor-" I looked at him sharply and Steve clamped his mouth shut.

I laughed "You're a dork." I told him.

"That a good thing or bad?" He asked hesitantly.

"Definitely good." I stated, looking up at him.

I only realized Steve was still holding onto my hand when I felt his thumb slowly rubbing it in a comforting manner.

"You know, I thought you would never look at me again after what happened, let alone speak to me." He confessed to me with a slight chuckle.

"Well, I'll try not to shoot you when I do either one of those things." I joked, referring to when he thought he was speaking to Bucky.

Steve blushed again, looking down at our hands.

"D-did you hear all of that?" He asked, scared of what my answer would be.

"Yes, I did." I said, leaning towards his ear as if I had a secret to whisper to him.

"And I like you too." I confessed.

Steve's eyes widened and looked to me with a surprised expression. "R-really? This isn't one of your jokes again is it Clary?" He stammered out.

I laughed loudly.

"No, I'm not joking blue eyes, honest." I decided to lighten the load on him. "Want to have dinner with me? I know Howard still has his fondue set in my room." I smirked when I mentioned fondue and looked at his face.

"Cheese and bread right?" Steve clarified.

"Cheese and bread." I nodded.

"Then I would love to." He offered me his arm, "Ma'am."

I gladly took it and we headed off to my room. I looked at the roses clutched in my hand, smelling them once again.

"Thank you again for this, they're beautiful." I said, tilting my head to look at him.

Steve kissed the top of my head, his other hand giving mine a squeeze.

"They're not the only thing that's beautiful."

* * *

 **AN: Wow! I can't believe it's been a month since I started this story! and I already have over 50 followers and 30 faves and reviews! I seriously didn't expect this and can't thank you guys enough! As for the story, everyone seemed to love Jealous Steve from the last chapter but in this one we got to see some cute Steve/Clary moments in here as well as Bucky/Clary :) It was really fun to write those moments! Hope to see you guys next week! -E**


	10. Losses

**Disclaimer: I own nothing you recognize. Only my OC, Agent Clarissa Melanie Connors and her story line belongs to me.**

* * *

For the past few months, Steve has been leading the Howling Commandos, defeating the Hydra camps one by one on the map. It's been such a rush, being able to fight Hydra agents and such on the missions. Thankfully, nothing too bad has happened to me and the men that couldn't be healed. It's been 2 years since I've known Steve now and it has been great getting to know him more. Nothing has happened between us except a few kisses on the cheek and dinners spent together. After all, he is Captain America, we were too busy to do anything to deepen our relationship.

Right now the team and I are on a mountain, spying on a train that supposedly had Dr. Zola in. We were listening in through the radio transmission. The mountain side was cold, but nothing I couldn't handle. We set up a zip line from where we were all the way across the ledge where we would run and be able to land right on the train.

"Remember when I made you ride the Cyclone at Coney Island?" I overheard Bucky say to Steve

"Yeah, and I threw up," Steve replied.

"This isn't payback right?" Bucky asked, chuckling nervously.

"Now, why would I do that?" Steve asked jokingly.

"We were right. Dr. Zola's on the train. Hydra dispatcher gave him permission to open up the throttle." Gabe informed us.

"That means, wherever he's going, they must need him bad then," I commented.

"Then let's get going because they're moving like the devil," Falsworth said, looking at the train through his binoculars.

Steve put his zip cord on, preparing to go first.

"We only got about a ten-second window!" He yelled at us "You miss that window, we're bugs on a windshield!" He joked.

I smirked, snorting. "Mind the gap."

Steve looked over at me "Clary you're up next." I nodded in agreement.

"Bucky, will you go after her?" Steve asked his friend, making me roll my eyes.

I've noticed it a lot during our past missions, the way he tries to protect me and always pushes me back or closer to him when he senses danger as if I can't handle myself. If he only knew that it is physically impossible for me to get hurt... It's what the thought counts I guess.

"I can handle myself perfectly well, Captain," I told him with a smile.

"Doesn't mean I can't worry," Steve replied, grinning, readying himself to jump.

"Better get moving bugs!" Dum Dum yelled.

I quickly kissed Steve on the cheek and whispered "You better come back alright?"

"Don't I always." Was his answering before jumping after Dernier gave the signal.

Following in suit, all four of us safely landed on the roof of the train, staying low so the wind doesn't push us off by accident. With Gabe keeping guard on top, Steve, Bucky, and I entered the train safely. We walked through a few compartments before we got split up because the doors suddenly locked; me locked in a compartment with Bucky and Steve in the previous one.

Immediately agents were firing at us, making us fire back as well. Bucky and I stayed hidden behind a few crates. I yelled out in pain when one of the bullets managed to hit me on the shoulder. Bucky looked at me at my distress, but I signaled him to continue firing. I hid behind the crates, trying to find the bullet so I could heal faster. Once I dislodged the bullet from my shoulder, I walked across the compartment, making my way over to Bucky, still shooting at the agents in front of me.

"You alright, Clar?" He asked, concern all over his face.

"I'm fine," I assured him.

Bucky didn't look too sure. His eyes looked over to where I was shot but got distracted by the bullet that hit close to his head. He ran out of ammo a few minutes in.

"I'll push the crate and you fire him got it?" I asked, formulating a plan.

He nodded, taking the gun from me. I proceeded to run fast and push a crate as hard as I can, making the agent avoid it and Bucky shooting them. The other agent tried to shoot me, readying myself for a fight before a shield came flying through and effectively knocking the agent out.

"We had them on the ropes." I grumpily told Steve.

"I know you did."

I heard a gun being powered up, being too late to see the man, he fired at us, Steve quickly yelling for us to get down. He took the initial hit with the shield, not getting hurt besides us getting thrown across the compartment. My vision was still hazy, but I could hear the blast of the gun again and before I knew it, Steve was up and running towards his shield and throwing it to the shooter.

"Bucky! Hang on!" Steve shouted.

My vision started clearing up, I slowly pushed myself off the ground to see Bucky holding on to the wall of the compartment that's been blown wide open, and Steve carefully climbing on trying to get to him.

"Grab my hand!" He yelled.

I could hear the groaning of the metal from the weight on them. It was too much for it to handle, breaking as soon as Bucky shifted. I gasped when he fell as he tried to grab Steve's hand.

"No!" Steve screamed as he watched Bucky fall down the ravine.

I quickly grabbed onto Steve, scared that he might fall as well. I pulled him onto the train and hugged him as he sobbed on my chest, whispering _I'm sorry's_ and _It'll be alright's_ in his ears.

~0~

After Gabe found the compartment that held Zola, I quickly radioed Howard telling him to pick us up. The ride back was silent and the plane full of tension. Nobody dared to speak about one of our fallen comrades. The only comfort I could give Steve at the time was keeping a hold on his hand, which he didn't seem to want to let go. The minute we landed, I went with Gabe to escort Zola to his prison cell but not before checking on Steve.

"I have to go take Zola to his cell... unless you want me to stay with you I'm fine with that," I told him, squeezing his bicep in what I hoped was a comforting manner.

Steve shook his head slightly, not looking up, but I knew why he wouldn't once I heard a sniffle.

"No, it's fine. You go take him in, I'll just be..." He trailed off.

I nodded, understanding how he felt. I pressed my lips on his cheek before saying a quiet see you later to him. I quickly ran to where Zola and the guards were, ordering them to follow me into the base and to his cell. The guard opened the door for us after Zola changed into a prisoner outfit. I handed him his glasses and followed him in.

I watched Zola with careful eyes as he looked around the room, taking in everything. His shoulder tensed as he spotted a few drops of blood on the ground. I smirked.

"The last guy was troublesome," I told him, humor clear in my voice.

I saw him gulp which only made my smirk wider. Zola's gaze drifted from mine to the door that opened, revealing Chester holding a tray of food and a file tucked in his arm. I walked towards him patted his arm.

"I'll be on the other side," I said, implying I'll just be watching from the other room through the two-way mirror.

He nodded briefly.

I knocked on the door, signaling the guard to open it. I made my way next door, the guard opening and closing it for me. With a simple thank you, he left me alone. I sat on the chair provided in the room and watched as Chester interrogated Zola. At first I thought Zola wasn't gonna budge but as Chester continued, Zola finally revealed what Red Skull's plans were. Once Chester stood up from his seat, satisfied with the information he got, I quickly exited the room, meeting him outside.

"I'm gonna call for a meeting in half an hour," He informed me.

I nodded, quickly understanding the situation we were in and how fast we had to act. I was about to leave and look for Steve, but I had no idea where he was.

"You wouldn't happen to know where a certain Captain is, would you?" I asked Chester.

"Last I heard, your little Captain was at a bar in town," He told me. "He gonna be okay?"

I thought about the question for a second, not knowing if what I answer would be the truth until I settled for one.

"He will be," I answered confidently before going to the bar.

* * *

I walked through the dark streets of London before I reached the pub. Carefully stepping around the rubble, I entered the wrecked and empty pub, save for Steve who sat in what seemed to be the only standing table in the room besides the bar itself. The soft sound of the radio fluttered throughout the room, advising the citizens to stay in their homes tonight. My foot accidentally moved a piece of wood on the ground, creating a noise that Steve looked up to.

The sight of him made my heart break. His eyes were a bit puffy and red, as was his nose, which only signified that he had been crying. Steve's hand reached up to wipe the stray tear that was falling before taking his glass and pouring more alcohol in it. He took a sip before speaking.

"Dr. Erskine said that the serum wouldn't just effect my muscles, it would affect my cells. Create a protective system of regeneration and healing. Which means um...I can't get drunk. Did you know that?" He asked me.

I bent down to grab a chair that was still intact and set it down next to him to sit.

"Your metabolism burns four times faster than the average person. He thought it could be one of the side effects." I informed him.

Steve looked upset at the information I gave him. He took another sip of the drink before I grabbed it and placed it on the table.

"It wasn't your fault Steve, you know that right?" I asked him.

"Did you read the reports?" He retorted.

"I did," I said.

"Then you know that's not true," He contradicted me.

"You also forget that I was on that train with you when it happened," I reminded him, placing my hand on his arm that rested on the table.

"I saw what happened and you did everything you could Steve, and as for that I am apologizing for not being able to do anything at the time," I said to him, my eyes watering ever so slightly, genuinely upset at myself for being powerless at the time.

Steve's head shot up so fast when the words came out of my mouth.

"No! You have absolutely nothing to apologize for Clary and you know it. You couldn't have done anything," Steve insisted.

"Then why can't you say that to yourself? Why are you beating yourself up about this when we're in the same position?" I questioned him, my voice soft.

He still had that determined look that was still blaming himself. I sighed and reached up to grab his chin force him to look me in the eye.

"Did you believe in Bucky? Did you respect him?" I asked him, looking deep in his eyes.

Steve looked at me as if he was saying yes.

"Then stop blaming yourself. Allow Bucky the dignity of his choice. He damn well must have thought you were worth it." I stated firmly.

I noticed that Steve's eyes were starting to water again, but he was holding back due to me being there, making me sigh once more. I took hold of his hands and brought them to my lips, kissing them.

"You don't have to be strong all the time Steve," I told him softly "You're gonna get tired if you do,"

That's when the dams broke. I swiftly stood up from my chair and sat on Steve's lap, wrapping my arms around him. He buried his face in my hair and neck and held my waist tightly. I can feel the wetness on my neck, but I didn't mind one bit. We stayed in this position for a good 10 minutes. When Steve calmed down, he looked up at me, his eyes red once again. I pressed the palm of my hand on his face, wiping away the tears that were still falling. My hands stayed where they were; on his face, leaning on it.

"I'm goin' after Schmidt. I'm not gonna stop till all of Hydra is dead or captured." He told me, determination fierce on his face.

I snorted, "I'd be surprised if you didn't," I told him, trying to lighten the mood a bit.

I smiled when I saw the corners of Steve's mouth twitch. His hands squeezed and caressed my side in an affectionate way.

"Thank you," He thanked me softly.

"For what?"

"For... everything really. This," He gestured to me sitting on his lap, "For you being here, for all the things you said and done, and most of all, for being you."

I smiled widely at him and pecked his cheek, loving the close proximity we were in.

"You're more than welcome, and just so you know, you won't be alone in this. I'll be there, every step of the way, right next to you."

This time it was Steve who kissed me on the cheek, very close to the edge of my mouth, making me blush. I stood up from his lap, offering my hand out to him.

"C'mon, we have to go. We're late to the meeting as it is," I said pulling him up when he grabbed my hand.

"Zola confessed?" He asked, looking at me as we walked back to headquarters.

"Oh yeah," I breathed out.

"What's Schmidt got planned?"

I looked up at Steve, seriousness in my eyes.

"Something big."

* * *

 **AN: So here's the next chapter! Captain America: The First Avenger is almost done! Maybe a chapter or two left, I don't know yet since I haven't gotten around to writing them. After this movie ends I'll probably take a short hiatus to get a few chapters written beforehand and start on the next part of this story! Thank you to all those who faved/followed this! I am extremely grateful! See you guys next week! -E**

 **As for reviews...**

 **-They did makeup woo! I didn't like it either when they were on the outs haha**

 **-Thank you, I love Steve and Clary as well!**

 **-You're welcome! I love writing moments between them and I also wanted Clary and Bucky to have a moment before... yenno he dies**

 **-Really? I do read a lot of FF so it might be similar... I apologize to whoever you read it from, I didn't mean for this to be the same or similar.**


	11. Knock, Knock Hydra

**Disclaimer: I own nothing you recognize. Only my OC, Agent Clarissa Melanie Connors and her story line belongs to me.**

* * *

Steve and I hurriedly went back to headquarters where everyone was starting to file in the Operations Room, taking seats at the table provided. Steve sat at the end of the table facing the board that had a bunch of information on Hydra. I sat to his left while Howard sat in front of me. Chester was by the board, informing everyone what he gathered from Zola.

"Johann Schmidt belongs in a bughouse," Chester began, "He thinks he's a god, and he's willing to blow up half the world to prove it, starting with the USA."

"Schmidt's working with powers beyond our capabilities. He gets across the Atlantic, he will wipe out the entire Eastern Seaboard in an hour," Added Howard, looking at me and the rest of the people.

"How much time we got?" Asked Gabe.

"According to my new best friend,  
under 24 hours," Chester informed us.

"Where is he now?" Howard asked him.

"Hydra's last base is here," Chester pointed to the picture on the bulletin board, "In the Alps, 500 feet below the surface."

"So what are we supposed to do?" Dum Dum said, "I mean, it's not like  
we can just knock on the front door."

"Why not?" Steve said suddenly, making me and everyone else look at him.

"That's exactly what we're going to do," Steve said, his voice full of determination.

I smirked at him and looked at the people at the table, "Well, fellas, I guess we better suit up; we've got work to do."

I tapped the table as I stood up, everyone following in suit. I lightly squeezed Steve's shoulder as I passed by him to change into my uniform.

Steve got ready and changed into his uniform with the rest of the Howling Commandos. I, on the other hand, wasn't going with them this time. Steve ordered me to go with Chester and the rest of the troops.

"How many times have we had this conversation?" I asked him, rolling my eyes after I received my orders, "I can handle myself, Steve."

"I know you can handle yourself, Clary. But regardless of that it'll make me worry about you so I need you to go with Chester, at least then I know you're in good hands," He argued back, putting his shield on his back.

I took hold of his hands and looked him in the eye.

"Stay safe, blue eyes. You're not the only one who's worried," I told him.

Steve chuckled and pecked my cheek.

"Don't be late," He joked.

With that he left my room and went to his motorcycle and sped off to the Hydra base.

~0~

Chester and I and the rest of the troops waited patiently at the edge of the forest for our signal. I tried to refrain from pacing, so I had to keep tapping my foot, glancing back at Chester who held the two-way radio. Finally, Jim's voiced yelled through the speakers.

"We're in! Assault team, go!"

"Alright, you heard him! Move out!" I yelled to the rest.

A lot of the men were shot by the guns Hydra agents possessed as we ran through. I did my best to avoid the shots and to keep an eye out for Chester. We made it inside the base, slightly unscathed, just a few cuts here and there. Thankfully I was muddied so people couldn't see my wounds healing. I saw Steve hiding behind a wall to keep himself safe from a guy who was trying to set him on fire. I quickly shot him a few times before he went down.

"You're late," He joked once he walked up to me.

I rolled my eyes at him but made sure he wasn't hurt badly.

"I think you were about to do something, Captian," I reminded him.

Steve looked at me, dazed before he shook his head slightly.

"Right,"

He dropped a kiss on my forehead before heading off. The rest of us dispersed and tried to find as many agents as we could. Chester came up to me and dragged me off.

"C'mon, Schmidt's trying to leave on a plane, Rogers is trying to get him," He told me.

"What! I know Steve's fast, but surely he can't run after a plane!" I yelled.

"I know, which is why we're using this," Chester stopped in front of a car and started hot wiring it.

"Brilliant," I smiled widely, sitting in the back.

Chester immediately sped off, trying to catch up to Steve and Schmidt.

"Get in!" He yelled to Steve who was just standing on the side, looking lost and not knowing what to do.

We finally caught up to the plane, Steve readying himself to jump on board.

"Keep it steady!" He yelled on top of the wind to Chester.

Just before he leaped, I yelled.

"Wait!"

Steve stopped, looking back at me to see why I stopped him. I stood up from my seat and pressed my lips firmly onto his. He was slightly taken aback but responded after a second.

"You better come back, you hear me?" I told him.

"I'll always come back to you Clary," He said, solemnly before kissing me again.

Steve looked at Chester briefly, a bit dazed.

"I'm not kissing you!" Chester joked, snapping him out.

Steve slowly climbed in the front of the car, waiting for the perfect moment to jump on the tires of the plane. He got on right when the plane left the runway, making Chester press on the brakes harshly. We almost fell off, but thankfully we didn't. Chester looked back at me, making sure I was okay.

"We should head back to the control room, see if Steve got a chance to contact us," I said, my voice void of any emotions.

Chester nodded slowly before stepping on the gas pedal, heading back inside the base. Once we reached the control room, we had to wait a good 45 minutes before Steve contacted us. Chester did whatever he could to calm my nerves, but it didn't really work. It was only the sound of Steve's voice that managed to calm me down.

"Come in. This is Captain Rogers. Do you read me?"

My head snapped up when Steve's voice came through the speakers.

"Captain Rogers, what is your..." Jim spoke but I kicked him out of the chair before he could finish.

"Steve, is that you? Are you all right?" I asked worriedly.

"Clary, Schmidt's dead!"

"Thank goodness, and what about the plane?" I asked almost hesitantly.

Steve paused for a moment and I could almost see him tilt his head.

"That's a little bit tougher to explain," He got out.

"Give me your coordinates," I told him, ready to press the buttons around me, "I'll find you a safe landing site."

"There's not gonna be a safe landing, but I can try and force it down," He told me.

I could feel my heart slowly start to sink. I felt movement behind me which only led me to believe that Chester and Jim left.

"I-I'll get Howard on the line. He'll know what to do," I stuttered a bit, trying to sound confident in what I was saying.

Clary, there's not enough time. This thing's moving too fast and it's heading for New York," Steve told me before pausing again.

"I got to put her in the water," He said painfully

I felt tears gather in my eyes, my eyesight starting to get blurry

"Steve, please, don't do this to me," I told him, my voice starting to shake, "We have time. W-we can work it out."

"Right now I'm in the middle of nowhere. If I wait any longer, a lot of people are gonna die," Steve said seriously.

I closed my eyes, not wanting this to be true.

"Clary," Steve called quietly, "This is my choice."

We didn't speak for a moment, giving me time to take in what was actually happening.

"Clary?" Steve called.

I sniffled, trying to compose myself.

"I'm here," I said.

"I'm gonna need a rain check on that date," He joked.

I shook my head, thinking how on Earth could he be joking at a time like this, but I smiled and laughed nonetheless.

"All right," I said weakly, "I was thinking a week, next Saturday, at the Stork Club."

"You got it," Steve agreed.

"8:00 on the dot and don't you dare be late. Understood? We can dance while we're there, in the two years we've been together we never danced," I humored him, the tears slowly rolling down my cheeks.

"I'm glad because then you'd see how bad of a dancer I am," He replied.

I chuckled quietly, trying not to sob

"I'll show you how. Just be there," I said, my voice cracking in the middle of my sentence.

"We'll have the band play something slow. I'd hate to step on your feet," He said, laughing a bit.

I couldn't help but smile. I'm glad he could laugh at a time like this.

"Clary," Steve's voice called out, panic clearly seeping through.

"Steve? What's happening?" I asked in alarm.

"I'm so sorry, I lo-"

Steve's voice was cut off before he could finish. I stood up from the chair, starting to press any button I could see to try and get the signal back.

"Steve? Steve!" I cried into the microphone, "No, no! You can't do this to me, Steve Rogers! Please, come back! Come back to me!"

I slid onto my knees, slowly giving up. I grabbed the microphone and hugged it to my chest.

"I love you, Steve Rogers," I said quietly to the microphone.

Chester came back after a while and help me stand up. I wiped the remaining tears off my face and masked my face with no emotions of any sorts. We flew back to London and no one spoke to me. Howard greeted us at the tarmac and pulled me into a hug. I almost cried then and there but I kept myself together.

"We will find him, you understand me Mels? I will do everything in my power to find him," Howard told me, sincerely.

I nodded at him and smiled slightly.

"Thank you, Howie," I told him, kissing his cheek before going to my room and locking myself in there for the night and bawled my eyes out.

~0~

A few days passed before we got the news that Europe won the war. VE Day was wonderful, everyone was celebrating the win. The Commandos invited me out for a drink, but I politely declined. I needed to do work. I needed the distraction. I was busy filing things from a box when Chester came by and placed a file in my hand along with a box. He placed his hand on my shoulder, trying to be comforting. I gave him a small smile. I gingerly opened the file and the first thing I noticed was a picture of Steve. It was one before he went through the procedure. My eyes watered, I ran my fingers along the picture, taking it out of the file and keeping it for myself.

I opened the box Chester also brought. Inside were some of Steve's personal belongings. His army uniform, his sketchbooks and such. I decided against looking through his sketchbook, feeling it would be an invasion of privacy. I packed up the box and brought it to my room for safe keeping.

A few knocks on my door made me look up from the box in front of me. I took the lid and closed it before opening the door to see who it was. Howard, wearing a leather jacket and a scarf stood in front of me, a slight smile was present on his face.

"You all set Mels?" He asked.

I opened the door wider, allowing him to come inside. He walked passed me straight to my bed and sat down.

"Yeah, let me just grab my bag," I told him, walking around my place.

"I see Phillips gave you his personal belongings," Howard said quietly.

I stopped in my place, forgetting momentarily that I never put the box away. I cleared my throat before I spoke.

"Yeah, yeah he did. I just thought it'd be best if they stayed with me you know?"

I played with my fidgeting fingers, not wanting to look up.

"I already told Phillips that we were ready to go once you got your bags so we don't need to stop by him," Howard informed me.

I nodded at him, tightly gripping my bag, "Alright, let's go."

Howard stood from my bed and placed his hand on my back, leading me out of my room and on our way to the plane.

~0~

The plane ride to the ship was as good as it got. I was quite nervous being on a plane ever since Steve's crash. Howard was a real comfort throughout the entire ride, keeping my thoughts far away from Steve. When we arrived at the dock of the ship, I took a released a sigh I didn't realize I was holding. I entered the ship and was in awe of all the technology around me. There were a few crewmembers flittering around the place. Howard didn't waste any time and immediately ordered the crew to sail off to the first grid point.

"We're planning on going to all the places where we found wreckage of the plane, as well as following the energy signature," Howard explained to me.

I nodded, looking over the many monitors in front of me. I gave Howard a small, but genuine smile.

"Thank you, for doing this Howie," I told him.

He smiled back.

"Anything for you Mels, and the Captain was my friend too," He told me.

We've been drifting through the cold waters of the Arctic, using the mechanical claws to sift through any of the wreckage we come across, but after 4 hours, we found nothing.

"How is Maria?" I asked Howard when he brought her up in the conversation.

Howard smiled fondly at the thought of her, which made me happy that Howard has finally found someone.

"She's great, misses you though," He told me.

"She still keeping you in her place?" I teased him.

Howard laughed and nodded, I chuckled myself.

"Good, I taught her well then," I joked.

A crewmember in charge of the claws interrupted our mini conversation. The tone of his voice implied that he found something, which made my heart beat faster.

"Sir, Ma'am."

Howard and I walked over to him and looked at the monitor he was indicating. The mechanical claw held up what seemed to be the Cube Red Skull used.

"I want that cube, take it up, and lock it, under my authority no one is to see that thing again," I told the man.

Said man looked at Howard for confirmation. I glanced at Howard and nodded my head.

"Do as she said, and take us to the next grid point," Howard told the Captain.

"But sir, there's no more traces of wreckage, a-and the energy signature stops here," The man tried to argue.

"I don't care, keep looking," I said, my face void of any emotion but my voice full of pain.

 _I will find you Steve..._

* * *

 **AN: Thank you so much for all of those who read this story! This is the last chapter of the Captain America movie. I will be taking a 2 week hiatus just so I could have multiple chapters ready for the Iron Man part of the story! Thanks again and see you guys soon! -E**


	12. Pre-Iron Man (AN)

**Disclaimer: I own nothing you recognize. Only my OC, Agent Clarissa Melanie Connors,** **and her story line belongs to me.**

* * *

 _It's been a few decades since the Valkyrie crashed somewhere in the Arctic and not a day goes by where I don't miss Steve. Howard's doing all he can to find him for me but I've told him to put a stop to his project, saying the only thing he can do to make me happy is to make up with Maria and settle down with her._ _  
_

 _Not long after I said that he met up with me to break the news of Maria being his fiancee. After a couple of years, they finally tied the knot and gave birth to my first godson, Anthony Edward Stark._

 _~0~_

 _Years had passed and it's now the year 2000, nine years has passed since Howard and Maria's death. I gladly took the role of being Tony's guardian. Tony went to MIT for college when he was just 15 and I couldn't have been any prouder of him. He graduated when he was 17 and took the position of CEO that I was holding for him when he turned 21. Even though Tony is a legal adult, I still took the responsibility of being his guardian. He didn't seem to mind, I now live with him in his Malibu house and he now is the CEO of Stark Industries._

 _Not much has changed, but I have been working on the new and improved SSR with the new face of the company, which is Joseph's son: Nicholas J. Fury. His right-hand man- or woman I should say- is Agent Maria Hill. I recruited a few agents on my own including Phil Coulson and Clint Barton. I sent Nick to acquire Clint Barton while I took care of Coulson. I managed to keep all this a secret to Tony but of course, things never stay a secret long enough._

* * *

 **AN: A little bit of background info on what's going to happen in the Iron Man part of TFWYSL! It will start at the beginning of Iron Man, but I will throw in a couple of flashbacks in there whether it be a Steve/Clary moment or a Howard/Clary scene. As I said, I will be on a short hiatus so the next chapter should be posted on the 31st of August or maybe even sooner!** **Thanks a bunch and sorry for the wait! -E**

 **As for reviews...**

 **-I did hate writing the plane crash scene, my heart hurt for Steve and Clary :( And I am super excited for Clary to be around Tony, it's only fair she gets to be around him because his father was Clary's best friend!**

 **-I am very excited to write Clara into the Avengers! I love that movie, it's probably my fave next to Cap 2! Thank you so much and I will!**


	13. A New Life

**Disclaimer: I own nothing you recognize. Only my OC, Agent Clarissa Melanie Connors, and her story line belongs to me.**

 **~0~ = little break**

* * *

An annoying ringing woke me up from my sleep. I groaned into my pillow, rolling over to my bedside table to get my phone. I glanced at the clock next to it, seeing that it was 3 in the morning. I squinted my eyes, the light emitting from my phone was a shock to my sleepy eyes. I scowled when I saw who was phoning me.

"Nick, you better have a good reason for phoning me," I practically growled into the phone.

"There's a problem in Budapest, I thought maybe you'd want to check it out," He informed me.

I groaned.

"Was that it? You woke me up at 3 just for that?" I asked Nick.

"Well, yes," Nick replied calmly, "You're the one who usually would want to be kept busy."

I shrugged to myself, knowing he was right. For the past 70 years, I have been going on a lot of missions, especially ones that require me to leave the country. Although I still had a slight fear of planes and needed Phil, Clint, or Tasha to be with me, I was all for it for leaving the country. The past decade my fear has gotten better.

"I thought I left a memo saying I wouldn't be in for a week or two and left you in charge," I reminded him.

"Oh, I didn't get the memo..." I could practically see Nick awkwardly scratching the back of his neck.

I sighed into the phone, "Just send Clint and Natasha to it, I'm sure they can handle it."

"Are you sure you don't want to take this Clarissa?" Nick asked me.

"Yes, I'm sure, they've handled worse. Besides, I trained them myself. I'm going to stay at Tony's for the meanwhile. I promised I would be at his award ceremony thing. I'll be back as soon as I can, report back to me if anything big happens," I ordered Nick as if I was his mother, which I practically was.

"Big as in Rome '08 or Texas '06?" He joked.

I laughed, "Texas, definitely."

"Alright, see you in a few Clarissa," Nick bid goodbye.

"Goodnight Nick."

I closed my eyes, ready to see the wonderful blue eyes I've been dreaming of ever since.

~0~

"Pepper!" I greeted the strawberry blonde when I saw her sitting at Tony's couch, her laptop in front of her.

"Clara!" She said, walking around the table to give me a hug.

"How have you been?" I asked her.

"Fine, you know, got a lot of work to do." She told me, gesturing to her computer.

"I see," I raised an eyebrow at her and smirked, "Tony treating you okay?"

"Well, Tony's Tony you know," Pepper said with a shake of her head and a small smile.

"Yes, I do know. Where is he, by the way? It's getting a bit late."

"Right! The ceremony, almost forgot. He's downstairs in the workshop, as always. I tried to get him ready just in case you were to stop by earlier but..."

Pepper cut herself off with a shrug of her shoulders making me laugh a bit.

"It's alright Pepper, I'll handle him. Are you sure you don't want to go? I can pull a few strings and get you a seat at our table if you want."

The strawberry blonde waved her hand and shook her head.

"No, no it's alright Clara, I need to catch up on some work anyways. I'm okay, you guys go ahead and have fun." She reassured me.

"Alright then, I'll just go see him. I'll see you tomorrow then, I've got some guys coming in with a few of my luggage, can you just sort that out and put it in my room?" I asked her as I went down the stairs.

"Of course."

I smiled at her and went down to the workshop. I could hear the music getting a bit louder as I stepped down. Another smile broke onto my face as I saw my godson once again after a few months. Calls and video chatting weren't the same as seeing him in person. I quickly entered my passcode for the door and entered, crossing my arms as I leaned against the glass wall. Tony was too busy working on a car to notice that I entered the room.

"Wow, I thought my own godson would be more excited to see me..." I said, having to slightly yell to make my voice louder than the music.

I saw his body freeze for a moment before going back to whatever he was working on.

"I mean, you are early. You weren't supposed to be here for another hour or so," Tony teased.

I scoffed and turned my head away from him. I heard him drop his wrench on the ground and stood up. He and walked towards each other and I opened my arms for him and gave him a big embrace.

"C'mon let's hit the road," I said, after getting out of his tight hug.

"You've been here, what 2 minutes and you're already bossing me around?" He joked.

"Pretty much yeah. Pepper's got your suit in the car so let's go," I ushered him towards the door.

"Wait, wait, wait! The awards show isn't for another 3 hours, what's the hurry?" He asked me, but still climbing the stairs.

"Can't I spend a little time with my godson?" I asked, a mock pout on my face.

"We can talk on the plane ride there!" Tony tried to argue with me.

"Nope, we are going to go for coffee then to the Palace, where you will change into you suit and I will change into my gown and then you will escort me there where you will presumably leave in the middle of the ceremony and play Craps or something and you will most likely take a brunette home."

I took a huge breath after my little speech. Tony stared at me in awe.

"It is scary how you know that," He confessed to me, still a bit dazed.

"I raised you, I think I should know those things, bye Pepper!" I yelled to the strawberry blonde.

Pepper glanced up from her computer to give Tony and I a small wave and a smile.

"If we're leaving, why aren't we downstairs where the cars are?" Tony asked.

"I asked Pepper to get Happy to bring the car around front."

As said, Happy was standing by the car with his shades on. His smile widened when he saw me.

"Ms. Connors, good to see you!" Happy greeted me.

"Happy how many times have I said to call me Clara?" I asked him, my eyebrow raised.

"Too many to count miss," Happy said with a chuckle.

He opened the passenger door for us when my phone rang. Tony looked at me briefly.

"Get your ass in that car and sit there, it's work it'll only be a minute," I ordered him.

He rolled his eyes at me but still sat in the car. I looked at my phone and saw it was Clint calling me.

"Aren't you supposed to be in Budapest right now?" I asked him.

"Hello to you too Lanie," Clint said dryly.

"Hi, but seriously, how do you have time to call me? Where's Tasha?" I asked.

"I'm just watching our target and I got bored. Nat's under cover right now so I'm alone," He informed me.

"Well, I have to go, Tony's waiting for me and we know he's not very patient. Say hi to Tasha for me and stay safe," I told him.

"Don't worry about us, you trained us after all," Clint said proudly.

"Goodbye, Clinton," I said with a roll of my eyes and hung up the phone.

I entered the car and sat beside Tony.

"Okay, Happy let's move it!" I told him.

* * *

The flight to Vegas was short and quiet, only small talks between Tony and I. I ordered the workers to take our stuff to the hotel and got a car that took us to a small, quiet cafe.

"So, what have you been up to while I was away?" I asked Tony, taking a sip of my latte, looking at him by the rim of my mug.

"Just working on some projects for the company. Fixed a car or two, nothing major," Tony told me nonchalantly.

I raised an eyebrow at him and sent him an amused smile.

"You have a pretty boring life," I told him.

He let out a bark of laughter.

"But seriously, anything? Girlfriends?" I pried.

"Are you kidding me Rissa? Me of all people to have a girlfriend," He rolled his eyes at me as if what I said was completely impossible.

"Tony, sweetie, I do want you to find someone and settle down you know. And I think that the person you need isn't that far away, she might be right under your nose."

I patted his arm, hinting at him about Pepper. Ever since her interview so many years ago I just knew.

"What about you huh? Where have you gone?"

He wasn't accusing me of leaving him or anything. Tony knows that my job with the government requires me to leave the country from time to time. I didn't tell Tony the full extent of my job.

"Well, I just came back from New York just as a check in, I was supposed to go to Germany but I already said I was going to the awards ceremony so they gave it to another person," I informed Tony.

"Hmm, Germany, haven't been there in a while," Tony spoke thoughtfully.

"Do you have any plans? Leaving the country soon?" I asked, relaxing back into my chair.

"Stark Industries has a weapons demo at Afghanistan and I'll be the one going with Rhodey. We're showing the Jericho," He smirked at the name of his weapon.

"The weapon you only have to fire once... You know that's how your dad did things," I informed Tony.

I could see Tony's demeanor change at the mention of Howard. I understand Tony's contempt with his father. I was also upset at how Howard treated Tony during his childhood. Maria was there, but I could see that Tony wanted his dad's approval.

"He'd be proud of you, you know that right?" I said quietly, "I'm proud of you."

He looked at me and smiled slightly. I couldn't help but feel a bit emotional that my baby boy has grown up to be this man sitting in front of me.

"Thanks, Rissa," Tony glanced at his watch and his eyes widened, "Oh shit, we're gonna be late and you still need to get ready!"

I took his arm to look at his watch, we still had a good hour and a half to go back to the hotel and get ready. I chuckled at his panic-stricken face.

"How long do you think it takes me to get ready?" I asked, still laughing.

"I don't know, 2 hours?" Tony guess with a shrug.

I scoffed.

"I think you're confusing me with yourself. I am not that conceited," I told him.

"Whatever, let's go. I'm bored and the sooner we get to the ceremony, the quicker we can go home," He stood up from his chair and waited for me to do the same.

~0~

Like I said to Tony, it took me less than 2 hours to get myself ready for the party. I took a quick shower and put on very light, natural, make-up on. The dress I wore was a simple yet elegant black dress. I let my hair down in it's natural waves. Tony met up with me at the lobby of the hotel. He let out a low, playful whistle and tilted his shades down when he saw me.

"Looking ever so fine tonight Rissa," He complimented me.

I gave him a smile and reached out to smooth his collar and lapels.

"Don't you look dashing," I said back, "but please, take the shades off. You look ridiculous, we are inside."

Tony rolled his eyes at me.

"They complete the look," He tried to argue.

I let out a fake sigh and shook my head. Tony offered me his arm and we walked to the venue and was bombarded with photographers. Obadiah greeted us with open arms. First he hugged Tony then planted a kiss on my cheek. I grimaced internally. I've always been wary about Obadiah. I just sense a bad vibe coming from him. Trying to be polite, I still gave a small smile towards him.

"Tony! Clara!"

I look around to see who called our names. that's when I spot Rhodey coming towards us with open arms. He and Tony shared a hug before he greeted me the same way.

"Hey Rhodey, how are you feeling?" I asked him, linking my arm with his as he led me towards my table.

"Great, you know. Honored that I'm the one who would be giving the award to Tony," He told me.

Rhodey pulled out the chair for me and sat next to me as I smiled at him.

"I can't think of anyone else who would be perfect for the job," I told him honestly.

I looked around, trying to see if I could spot Tony. He was still talking to a few reporters, specifically the attractive women.

"Rhodey, do me a favor will you and tell Tony to come here. I need to speak to him before he runs out to the casino," I requested of him.

"Of course, I'll be back," Rhodey left the table and made his way towards Tony.

Shortly after, Tony came to me and sat down.

"Do I need to have a talk with you about being on time to your own award ceremony?" I questioned him.

"I'll be back on time don't worry. If you want, I'll even bring Happy with me," Tony tried to negotiate.

"Alright, but make sure you're here. Rhodey's the one giving you the award so you know how much that'll mean to him okay?" I explained to him.

"Yes mom," Tony said in an annoyed tone of voice making me chuckle.

"Okay, go win for me baby boy."

I gave him a kiss on the cheek and watched as he sauntered off to Happy and dragged him towards the casino.

~0~

I spent the rest of the evening making small talks with some of the board members of Stark Industries that I've gotten to know when I was CEO of the company until Tony took over when he turned 21. Soon enough, it was the portion of Tony's life shown on a video.

 _"Tony Stark. Visionary. Genius. American patriot. Even from an early age, the son of legendary weapons developer Howard Stark quickly stole the spotlight with his brilliant and unique mind."_

The voice from the video said, showing clips of Tony in magazines. I looked at the entrance again to see if he showed up.

 _"At age four, he built his first circuit board. At age six, his first engine. And at 17, he graduated summa cum laude from MIT."_

I smiled fondly when the video showed pictures of Tony from when he was just a boy into his teens.

 _"Then, the passing of a titan, Howard Stark's lifelong friend and ally, Clarissa Connors stepped in to help fill the gap left by the legendary founder with the help of Obadiah Stane, until, at age 21, the prodigal son returns and was anointed the new CEO of Stark lndustries."_

My heart clenched at the mention of Howard and my eyes misted when the video showed an old picture of Howard and I. It hurt to see the people I care about age as time went on but I didn't.

 _"With the keys to the kingdom, Tony ushers in a new era for his father's legacy. Creating smarter weapons, advanced robotics, satellite targeting. Today, Tony Stark has changed the face of the weapons industry by ensuring freedom and protecting America and her interests around the globe."_

The video ended with Tony's face on the big screens. I watched as Rhodey stood on the podium, starting to say his speech.

"As liaison to Stark Industries, I've had the unique privilege of serving with a real patriot. He is my friend and he is my great mentor. Ladies and gentlemen, it is my honor to present this year's Apogee Award to Mr Tony Stark."

He looked at the applauding crowd, his eyes landing to where I sat with Obadiah to see if Tony was beside me.

"Tony?" He asked to the crowd again.

Rhodey made eye contact with me, asking through his eyes where he was but I gave him a look and he seemed to understand where he was. I leaned over to Obadiah to speak to him quietly.

"Do you want to take this or shall I?" I asked him.

"It's okay, I'll do it," He whispered back.

I nodded at him as he stood up and made his way to the stage.

"Thank you Colonel," He started, Rhodey nodding at him, "This is beautiful. Thank you. Thank you all very much. This is wonderful... Well, I'm not Tony Stark. But if I were Tony, I would tell you how honored I feel and what a joy it is to receive this very prestigious award."

He took a small pause, laughing slightly as he continued to talk.

"Tony, you know... The best thing about Tony is also the worst thing. He's always working. He never rests! But of course we have him to thank for all the protection he gives our great nation, so thank you very much everyone and have a goodnight!" Obadiah raised the award as the guest began to clap once more.

I quickly stood up and began to walk away from the table to join with Rhodey who was talking to Obadiah who gave him the award again. Once I arrived, Obadiah excused himself for the night, which left me alone with Rhodey.

"You going to yell his head off?" He asked me, smirking slightly.

"Of course, you coming to watch?" I asked, already heading towards the casino where Tony would most likely be.

"Don't mind if I do."

* * *

 **AN: I'm back! I'm so sorry for the wait, but it was a well needed break. I got a few chapters done and I'm really happy about that. I love writing Clary in with Tony, I feel like it's Howard I'm writing about with her. It's sad that it will take a long time for her and Steve to get back together but worry not! I will throw in some flashbacks! I'm afraid that my schedule will change drastically soon because my school starts next week so you'll see** less **updates :( but I will try my best to not forget this story! I also deleted _Lights, Camera, Action!_ for the time being because of how stressful it was to have to update two stories at once so I apologize to those who took the time into reading it. I will hopefully put it back up once I'm in a more stable situation. Thank you for reading and I hope to see you next time! -E**


	14. Not Again

**Disclaimer: I own nothing you recognize. Only my OC, Agent Clarissa Melanie Connors, and her story line belongs to me.**

 **~0~ = little break**

* * *

Rhodey and I walked into the casino, heading towards the table that had the most people crowding over, assuming that was where Tony was. We heard Tony's voice among the many that crowded the Craps table.

"Work it! C'mon!" He said as he threw the dice.

Tony then turned to the woman next to him and started shamelessly flirting.

"We should just stay till the morning. You are unbelievable."

I roll my eyes at him, very much annoyed at what he's done to Rhodey.

"Anthony Edward Stark!" I shouted over the people.

I saw him freeze and whisper the word shit ever so lightly.

"You better not be swearing at me, Anthony," I yelled.

He turned around to face myself and Rhodey and he cringed at the look I was giving him so he diverted his eyes onto Rhodey.

"Oh, no! Did she rope you into this?" Tony asked jokingly but dropped his smirk when he saw my glare.

"Clara didn't rope me into anything, I came to watch all on my own. She did tell me that if I were the one to present the award you would be deeply honored," Rhodey told him.

"Well, as always, Rissa is correct. So, when are we doing it? I lost track of time," Tony said to us, looking at his wristwatch for the time.

I grabbed the award from Rhodey's hand and shoved it into Tony's.

"There it is, that was easy," Tony said sarcastically before looking apologetic, "Rissa I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to I swear."

My eyes soften at his genuine apology and gave him a small smile and caressed his cheek.

"Oh honey, I'm not the only one you should be apologizing to," I said to him, nodding over to Rhodey.

"No, it's okay," Rhodey said, letting it go.

"Wow! Would you look at that? That's something else. I don't have any of those floating around." Tony said, pretending to admire the award given to him before he gave it to the woman beside him.

Once again I rolled my eyes at Tony. He started yelling and getting excited about the game again.

"We're gonna let it ride! Give me a hand, will you Rissa? Give me a little something-something," He held the dice under my mouth for me to blow on, but I just gave him an exasperated look.

"Okay none from you, that's cool, that's cool. You too Rhodey."

Just like he did to me, he held his hand underneath Rhodey's mouth expecting him to blow on it.

"I don't blow on a man's dice," Rhodey huffed, shoving Tony's hand away from him, making Tony let go and let it turn into a roll.

"There it is. Lieutenant Colonel Rhodes rolls!" Tony played off before we saw what it landed.

"Two craps. Line away," the Croupier said making me laugh.

"That's what happens," Rhodey said to him, slightly amused at what happened.

"Worse things have happened. I think we're gonna be fine," Tony shrugged.

I joined him, shrugging as well.

"True. Remember that time you were naked and people got it on camera?" I asked Tony, making him laugh.

The three of us walked away from the casino to the lobby where we parted off.

"This is where I exit," Rhodey said bidding us goodnight.

"All right," Tony said, shaking the man's hand.

"Tomorrow, don't be late," Rhodey reminded Tony.

"Yeah, you can count on it," Tony replied without a care.

"I'm serious!" Rhodey exclaimed.

"I know, I know," Tony said back with a wave of his hand.

I whacked his arm lightly before turning to Rhodey, "Don't worry Rhodey, I'll drive him myself if I have to."

With Rhodey giving me a kiss and a hug, the three of us finally parted ways. Tony gave his award to a random person dressed up as Caesar.

"Render unto Caesar that which is Caesar's. There you go," Tony playfully said.

The Caesar guy looked very confused.

"Tony, why did you do that?" I asked him.

"Please, I don't need any more awards, I'm running out of space," He said to me making me roll my eyes for the hundredth time that night.

Happy, Tony, and I exited Caesar's Palace with our other security detail in tow. They surrounded us as we headed towards the two black Rolls Royce parked out front.

"We're taking separate cars home?" Tony questioned as Happy opened the door for me.

"Remember what I said about you taking a girl home? Here she comes." I quirked an eyebrow and nodded over his shoulder.

Happy took the liberty of checking out said girl that was running towards them who was stopped by the security around us.

"Mr. Stark! Excuse me, Mr. Stark!" the blonde called out, "Christine Everhart, Vanity Fair magazine. Can I ask you a couple of questions?"

Happy leaned into whisper into Tony's ear, "She's cute."

"She's all right?" Tony made sure, before receiving a nod from Happy.

He plastered his playboy smile and turned around to face the Christine.

"Hi," Tony said attractively which the reporter politely returned.

"Yeah. Okay, go," Tony ordered her to start.

"You've been called the da Vinci of our time. What do you say to that?"

"Absolutely ridiculous. I don't paint," Tony replied straight-faced.

I smacked him lightly at his silly reply.

Christine didn't seem bothered by his humorous answer but only raised an eyebrow at him.

"And what do you say to your other nickname, ''The Merchant of Death''?"

"That's not bad... Let me guess. Berkeley?" Tony guessed.

"She's probably from Brown," I put in.

"Ms. Connors is correct," She told us.

"Well, Ms. Brown, it's an imperfect world, but it's the only one we've got. I guarantee you, the day weapons are no longer needed to keep the peace, I'll start making bricks and beams for baby hospitals," He explained to her in a condescending manner.

"Rehearse that much?" Christine replied snarkily.

"Every night in front of the mirror before bedtime," Tony remarked.

"I can see that," She stated.

"I'd like to show you first-hand," Tony tried to flirt.

"All I want is a serious answer," Christine said exasperatedly.

"Okay, here's serious. My old man had a philosophy, 'Peace means having a bigger stick than the other guy.' " Tony answered.

"That's a great line coming from the guy selling the sticks," Christine replied sassily.

"Look, his father helped defeat the Nazis. He worked on the Manhattan Project. A lot of people, including your professors at Brown would call that being a hero," I cut in starting to get annoyed by this reporter.

"And a lot of people would also call that war profiteering," She told me.

"You want to know what war profiteering is, do a little research on Senator Brandt, I saw his war profiteering up close," I snapped remembering Steve.

Tony placed a hand on my waist in attempts to calm me down before I decide to throw a punch.

"Tell me, do you plan to report on the millions we've saved by advancing medical technology or kept from starvation with our intelli-crops? All those breakthroughs, military funding, honey," Tony told her.

"You ever lose an hour of sleep your whole life?" She questioned him, eyebrow raised.

"I'd be prepared to lose a few with you," Tony said smirking before practically undressing her with his eyes.

"Okay, that's my cue to leave. You are to give me a fifteen-minute head start before you can leave and please, don't break any lamps when you get home, some of those are irreplaceable, alright? Goodnight, baby boy."

I pressed a kiss to Tony's blushing cheeks as I babied him in front of the reporter, but I don't care. My driver opened the door for me and immediately fled from the Palace after telling my driver to step on it. I told my driver to go the private runway where Tony's plane would be. After getting a 'Yes, ma'am' from him, I took out my phone from my clutch and called Hill. After a few rings she finally answered.

"This is Hill," Her voice answered.

"Hill, how fast can you get me a helicopter at Tony's private runway in Vegas?" I asked her.

"Around 25 minutes," She answered.

"Do it in 15," I ordered.

"Yes, ma'am," was what she said before hanging up.

~0~

Like I ordered, Hill had a helicopter there 5 minutes before I arrived. The SHIELD agent piloting the helicopter greeted me with a polite nod before lifting off. I gave him the orders to take me to Tony's Malibu house and we got there in 45 minutes. JARVIS unlocked the doors for me when I arrived at the front door.

" _Good evening Ms. Clara, Miss Potts went home for the night but she said she'll be back here bright and early tomorrow,_ " JARVIS reported.

Thank goodness Pepper took my suggestion and went home for the night instead of her usually staying here in the guest wing.

"JARVIS please soundproof Tony's room tonight. I would actually want to get some sleep," I requested.

" _Of course Ms. Clara, would that be all?_ " JARVIS asked.

"Yes, JARVIS, that would be all, I'm going to hit the hay. Wake me up at 5 please," I ordered him.

" _Of course, have a good night Ms. Clara,_ " JARVIS bid me.

I just made it into my room and shut the door when I heard giggling from the hallway. Ugh. I really need to move my suite far away from Tony's. Slipping out of my dress and telling JARVIS to close the windows, I climbed into bed after changing into my pajamas and welcomed the face of Steve Rogers who infiltrated my brain every night.

~0~

" _Good morning, Ms. Clara. It's 5:00 a.m. The weather in Malibu is 70 degrees with clear skies. The sunrise is at 6:25 am. The surf conditions are fair with waist-to-shoulder high lines. High tide will be at 10:52 a.m._ " JARVIS informed me when I woke up.

Despite whatever was going on next door, I slept like a baby. I was glad that I didn't get nightmares last night because I forgot to soundproof my room. After doing a little stretch and doing my business in the washroom, I put on my workout clothes and headed to the workout room in the house. I was careful to not wake up the guest in the house. I assumed that Tony was already down at the workshop working on one of his cars or something. Doing my usual workout routine which took about an hour, I realized that I should probably call Rhodey. As if Tony would actually leave on time for Afghanistan, so rather than making Rhodey wait for Tony at the plane for hours, I'll tell him to hold off the flight for an hour or so.

" _Ms. Clara, Miss Potts just arrived,_ " JARVIS informed me while I was changing into my day clothes.

"Thank you, JARVIS. Can you tell her to get our guest's clothes dry cleaned and get a car ready for her?" I asked JARVIS.

"Of course, Ms. Clara."

I left the gym, ready to start my day. I cooked myself an omelet and some sausages. I checked my phone for any updates from SHIELD. I saw a message Natasha sent me saying they were back from Germany. I decided to call her to check up on her and Clint. She answered on the second ring.

"Hey Lanie," She greeted me.

"Tasha, hey sweetie. How'd the mission go?" I asked her while I played with my omelet.

"Went alright, target was neutralized. Clint got shot in the leg but other than that it went smoothly," Tasha told me.

"Well is he alright now?" I asked her, concerned for Clint's well-being.

"Oh, he's fine. We got him patched up as soon as we got back to HQ so you can stop worrying. You trained us harder than that," She told me offhandedly.

"Just because I trained you guys doesn't mean I can't worry. I practically raised the both of you," I chastise her.

"When are you coming back?" She questioned.

"Sometime this week, maybe tomorrow. Tony's leaving for Afghanistan today for a weapons demo so there's really no point of me staying here," I replied.

Before anything else was said JARVIS spoke.

"Ms. Clara, our guest is awake and wandering about the house asking for Mr. Stark, shall I tell her where he is?" JARVIS inquired.

"No JARVIS that's fine I'll see to her myself, keep her out of the usual areas," I answered.

I went back to my phone to finish my conversation with Natasha.

"Listen, I have to go and deal with Tony's one night stand of the week, I'll see you soon. Tell Clint I said to stay off his leg," I told her.

"You got it, see you soon Lanie," Tasha said before hanging up.

I put my dishes by the sink and gulped down the last of my orange juice before heading to find Christine. I saw her walking around in Tony's dress shirt he wore yesterday. She touched a panel on the wall and was startled when JARVIS told her she had no authority to be there. Before I could speak Pepper beat me to it, coming from the front.

"That's JARVIS. He runs the house. I've got your clothes here. They've been dry-cleaned and pressed, and there's a car waiting for you outside that will take you anywhere you'd like to go," Pepper explained, handing the woman her clothes.

"You must be the famous Pepper Potts," Christine stated, recognizing her.

"Indeed I am," Pepper said with a polite smile.

"After all these years, Tony still has you picking up the dry-cleaning," She said rudely.

Pepper kept her cool and kept that polite smile on her face before saying, "I do anything and everything that Mr. Stark requires. Including, occasionally, taking out the trash. Will that be all?"

Pepper didn't even mention that it was me who asked her to get all those things ready. Christine just gave her a forced smile. That was when I decided to make my entrance.

"Pepper! Good morning!" I greeted her, giving her an embrace.

"Morning, Clara!" She said, returning the hug.

I put on a fake smile on my face when I faced Christine.

"Oh, um, Christy right?" I guessed.

"Christine, actually," She corrected me through gritted teeth.

"Right, well there's a bathroom down this hallway and the front door is right there, have a nice day," I told her, pointing to the two doors.

She scoffed at me but still went down the hallway to get dressed.

"Bitch," I muttered quietly but not quiet enough because Pepper laughed.

"Happy birthday by the way!" I greeted the strawberry blonde.

She looked a bit shocked that I remembered but still said thank you.

"I should probably shoo out Tony now. Rhodey's probably gonna kill him," She told me, gathering a few papers off the table.

"Oh, I'll come with you. I already called Rhodey this morning telling him Tony's most probably going to be late but I know he's already standing at the top of the plane stairs," I said to her as we went down the stairs.

Pepper entered her code for the workshop, turning down the music at the same time.

"Please don't turn down my music," Tony told her without turning around.

"You are supposed to be on your way to the hangar," She replied, ignoring his complaint.

"How'd she take it?" He asked, implying about Christine.

"Like a champ," I told him sarcastically.

"You were wrong you know," Tony said to me.

I raised an eyebrow at him as he stood from his stool.

"About what?" I questioned.

"Your predictions from yesterday, you said I was gonna take home a brunette," He smirked at me, happy that he finally caught me when I was in the wrong.

I shrugged my shoulders and crossed my arms.

"I had an off day," I said as my excuse.

"Why are you trying to hustle me out of here anyways?" Tony asked us.

" Well, your original flight was scheduled to leave an hour and a half ago but me knowing you, I called Rhodey ahead and told him you were most likely going to be late. Now it leaves in half an hour and it takes almost an hour to get there so move your ass," I ordered him.

"That's funny, I thought with it being my plane and all, that it would just wait for me to get there," Tony remarked.

"You know that's rude to the pilot and Rhodey, Tony," I started, but Pepper changed the subject before an argument could start.

"Tony, I need to speak to you about a couple things before I get you out of the door," Pepper jumped in, shuffling the pile of papers in her arm.

"Doesn't it kind of defeat the whole purpose of having your own plane if it departs before you arrive?" Tony continued as he walked around the workshop.

"Larry called. He's got another buyer for the Jackson Pollock in the wings. Do you want it? Yes or no?" Pepper pressed.

"Is it a good representation of his spring period?" He questioned

"No, no sweetheart, The Springs was actually the neighborhood in East Hampton where he lived and worked, not ''spring'' like the season," I explained.

"So?" Tony said with a raised eyebrow.

"I think it's a fair example. Erm, I think it's incredibly overpriced," Pepper added in, making me nod in agreement.

"I need it. Buy it. Store it," Tony insisted.

Pepper and I hid our small smiles before she proceeded with the next thing on her list.

"Okay. The MIT commencement speech..." Pepper began before Tony cut her off.

"Is in June. Please, don't harangue me about stuff that's way, way, down..." Tony waved it off as he fiddled with a part of a car.

"They're haranguing me, so I'm gonna say yes," Pepper said, deciding for Tony as she usually did.

"Deflect it and absorb it. Don't transmit it back to me," He said to her.

"I need you to sign this before you get on the plane," Pepper handed him a piece of paper and a pen.

"What are you trying to get rid of me for? What, you got plans?" He asked.

"Just do as she says please, Rhodey's going to be upset with you if you're late," I asked him.

Tony rolled his eyes but still signed the document.

"As a matter of fact, I do," Pepper said, making Tony look at her.

"What?" He asked.

"I do have plans actually," Pepper told him.

"I don't like it when you have plans," Tony said to her poutily.

"I'm allowed to have plans on my birthday," She said defiantly.

"It's' your birthday?" Tony asked confusedly as he returned the pen and paper to her."

"Yes," Pepper answered.

"Oh, that reminds me! Pep, your present's in your room in the cabinet, I hid it there," I told her.

"It's your birthday already?" Tony clarified.

"Tony, tell me you did not forget. It's on the same day as last year," I told him with a sigh, disappointed that he forgot the birthday of one of the closest people he has.

"Get yourself something nice from me," Tony told her, ignoring what I said.

"I already did," Pepper said as a matter of fact.

"And?" Tony pushed.

"It's was very nice," Pepper replied.

"Yeah?"

"Very tasteful, thank you, Mr. Stark," Pepper thanked him shyly.

"You're welcome, Miss Potts," Tony said back quietly.

I am loving this unintended flirting here. I cleared my throat to gain the attention of the two.

"Tony, you really need to go. Should I drive you there? I'll probably be faster," I asked him.

"No it's fine, I'm already late so what's the point of rushing," He told me, declining my offer.

"Well alright then, I'll just head on back home tonight then. Pepper, can I treat you for a birthday lunch before I leave? I wanna be there when you open your present," I asked her smiling.

"Of course, I can't think of a better way to spend my birthday!" She said excitedly.

"Alright, give me a 30 minutes to arrange my flight plans, that'll be enough time for you to change into more casual clothing right?" I inquired.

"Yeah, definitely," She told me, "I'll see you in a bit. Have a safe flight, Tony."

She made her way up the stairs and out of our view.

"You're going back already?" Tony asked me.

"Yeah, I mean there's no point in staying if you're not here, I might as well cut my vacation off," I explained to him.

He just pouted his lips making me laugh.

"You're the one leaving the country!" I exclaimed, still laughing.

"I know, I know. Tell you what, I'll visit you in New York this time after I get back," He offered.

I nodded liking what he was offering, "Deal."

After pushing him out of the workshop, I helped him pack an overnight bag before practically kicking him out of the door.

"Call me after you're done the demo," I told him as he sat in his car.

"Alright, see you soon Rissa," He said putting his shades on.

I put my head through the open window and kissed him on the cheek, "Stay safe okay baby boy?"

He only nodded giving me a mock salute before speeding off.

* * *

"So, open it!" I said excitedly to Pepper.

She laughed at my childishness. Pepper and I were currently sitting at a patio of this restaurant we found. In front of her was the enormous gift bag that contained the presents I gave her.

"Alright, alright!" She set down her coffee mug and looked inside.

After getting rid of all the tissue paper I put, she finally reached the gift inside. She gasped in shock. She pulled out the champagne colored Judith Leiber clutch I got her.

"Oh, Clara this is beautiful! Thank you!" Pepper gushed.

"There's more," I told her, leaning back to watch her reaction.

She carefully set the clutch on the table and took another look in the bag where she pulled out the iconic brown Christian Louboutin shoe box. She smiled even wider when she saw the recognizable red-soled shoes.

"I got you black ones so it'll hopefully match any outfit you wear," I told her.

"This is wonderful, thank you so much Clara!" Pepper would've given me a hug if not all the things on her restricting her from standing.

"No problem," I said to her.

"What time's your flight?" She asked me, putting back her things in the bag.

"About an hour from now," I told her, briefly taking my eyes off her to thank the waiter that refilled my cup.

"Do they need you back already?" She questioned.

"Yeah, you could say that. They'll fall apart without me," I joked causing Pepper to laugh lightly.

"Does Tony know?" She asked me.

"Yeah, I told him before he left for Afghanistan," I told her.

"How'd he take it?"

"Well at first he was iffy about it, but after I made the point that he wouldn't even be in the country he agreed to it. He even said he'll visit New York instead of me going to him all the time," I told Pepper, "You should come as well!"

I glanced down at my watch realizing how fast time has flown.

"Well, I hate to cut this short but I do have a plane to catch," I said to her.

"Of course, thanks again Clara," She said.

"Now don't even think about doing any work today. Go on a shopping spree, Tony's treat!" I insisted.

Pepper laughed, "Don't mind if I do, should I call a car for you?"

"No, it's fine. I'll take a cab, take care Pepper and watch my Tony for me. Happy birthday again," I gave her a hug before leaving to find a taxi.

~0~

The flight back to New York was exhausting more than anything. A car was already waiting for me when I landed. I told the driver the address to my penthouse on the Upper East side. I wanted to just drop by my place before going to HQ. Around my penthouse were many framed pictures of people whom I considered my family. Majority of the pictures I have were of the Stark's and Nick because they're the ones I've known the longest. My eyes stopped on a rare photo of Steve and I.

We were celebrating after taking down one of Hydra's blockades. It was the most dangerous mission we've done so Howard proposed we celebrate. A photographer managed to take a picture of us and Steve let me keep the photo. I was laughing while looking at the camera, but he was smiling as he looked at me. I smiled at the memory of that night. Shaking my head, I put the frame down and grabbed my phone to call Nick.

"Hey, I'm dropping by. Get Clint, Tasha, and Coulson in your office. I want to see how everyone's doing," I told him when he answered.

"Understood, I'll send a car for you," He said.

"Alright, see you then."

Grabbing my necessary items from my bag, I rode the elevator down to the lobby where I saw the familiar face of an agent waiting for me. Once I got close enough, said agent gave me a polite nod and opened the door for me. To all the agents, I was just another high-ranking agent, sort of like Maria Hill and Coulson, but only a handful of people know that I am technically the Director. Nick is just the face of the organization.

I arrived at the building, thanking the agent. I went through security and made my way up to Nick's office where I saw Clint, Tasha, and Coulson talking to each other while Nick sat and watched.

"So, what have you guys been up to while I was away?" I asked, making myself known.

"Lanie you're here!" Clint said enthusiastically.

He stood up from the chair he was sitting on and walked over to me. I immediately noticed the limp while he walked. Enveloping me in his arms, I relaxed. Natasha and Coulson waited for their turn. I walked over to Nick to drop a kiss on his head.

"So Clint, how's the leg?" I asked as I leaned on Nick's table.

"It's fine, it wasn't a through and through so it was easy to patch up and to heal," He informed me.

"That's good to hear," I said before turning to Coulson.

"What about you, Phil? How've you been? I feel like it's been forever since we last spoke. Any cool missions you've gone to?" I questioned.

"None recently, no. I've just been keeping an eye out for anything you know," He said to me and I nod in understanding.

"Anything to report?" I asked Nick.

"Nothing so far, the biggest issue we've had was the Budapest one, but that's been handled. You're free to relax, we've got this," Nick told me.

I raised an amused eyebrow at him.

"Really, well I'll take you up on that offer. I haven's relaxed since I arrived so I might clock out early tonight. Call me if anything happens," I said to him as I left the office but not before giving all of them a final wave.

~0~

Ordering in and watching classic movies was my way of relaxing. I was in the middle of watching The Wizard of Oz when my phone rang. I checked the time on the clock above the tv and realized how late it was. At first I thought it was Nick but when I saw who was trying to video call me.

"Hey baby boy, how'd it go?" I asked once I answered.

Tony was wearing a suit and shades and was holding a glass of what I assumed was alcohol.

"Fantastic, thanks for telling me about that whole "that's how dad did it" thing. Really helped my speech," He raised his glass as if he were making a toast.

"You're in the middle of the desert, where did you get alcohol?" I questioned him, stifling my laugh.

"Oh, this? I'm throwing them in with every purchase of 500 million or more. Just a little something-something for the soldiers," He shrugged his shoulders.

"Well, I'm glad everything worked out well, good job," I gave him a big smile.

Tony's head turned away from the camera as someone spoke to him.

"Listen, I gotta go Rissa. We're heading back to base, I'll talk to you as soon as I get back in the States," He said to me.

"Alright, stay safe, love you," I waved at the camera before Tony hung up.

I put my phone down on the table and before I knew it, I fell asleep on the couch with the tv still on.

~0~

My phone blared loudly and I groaned thinking how this happens way too often for my liking. Without looking at who was calling, I answered my phone, my voice still thick with sleep.

"Clara, it's Rhodey," I could hear the panic in his voice which made me sit up and become more alert.

"Rhodey, what's wrong?"

The next thing that came out of his mouth was something I was not prepared for.

"It's Tony... He's missing."

* * *

 **AN: Longer chapter today! I think this is the longest chapter I've written so far so I really hope you guys enjoy! My school is starting in 3 days so my updates will be scarce and I apologize in advance for that. I will try my best to write whenever I can and try to update regularly, if not then frequently. I hope to see you next week! Thanks for reading! -E**


	15. Missing You

**Disclaimer: I own nothing you recognize. Only my OC, Agent Clarissa Melanie Connors, and her story line belongs to me.**

 **~0~ = little break**

* * *

My heart stopped when Rhodey said those words. It was like a bowl of cold water was being poured on me.

"What do you mean missing?" I asked Rhodey frantically.

"We were on our way back to base when all of a sudden an explosion happened in front of us. It wasn't Tony's car that got bombed. I think they were just shot at," Rhodey explained to me.

At this point I was already changing out of my sweats, preparing to go back to HQ.

"Did you look around, try and see if he walked away or something?" I asked switching to bluetooth as I sped through the streets.

"Nothing, I did find his phone though," Rhodey reported.

I ran my hand through my hair.

"I'll try to see if my people can do anything, call me as soon as you have anything," I told Rhodey as I pulled up into HQ.

"You got it Clara, and hey, we will find him, I will do everything in my power to find him."

Rhodey's voice rang in my ear, but I couldn't help but think of the worse possible thing that could've happened.

"I know, thank you Rhodey, I'll keep in touch. I still have to call Pepper and tell her what happened, tell Obadiah for me though, I'll handle Pepper," I told Rhodey before I hung up.

I strode through the building not even bothering with security. I barged in Nick's office and was glad to already see Hill and Coulson there.

"We were just about to call you," Nick started.

"Do we have any idea who it is?" I asked, getting right down to the point.

"Coulson thinks it might be the Ten Rings," Hill explained, gesturing to Coulson.

"Well, it's a logical assumption," Phil started to explain, "they have been active there."

"What would they want with Tony?" I asked aloud.

"Who wouldn't want Tony? He's the best engineer in the world and no doubt the smartest, we would've probably recruited him if it weren't for you," Nick explained to me.

"I have my reasons, but I want every person looking for him and the Ten Rings. I want them dead. Hill do a background check on anything going on in Stark Industries that had anything to do with the Middle East, orders, imports, exports anything," Hill nodded before leaving the room.

I turned to Coulson, "Phil, I want you to track down the Ten Rings, their last location, where their camp is based, who they talk to, whatever. I want eyes and ears on everything. Nick, I want you to supervise, call me as soon as you have something. Colonel James Rhodes is also on the case, feel free to hack your way in the Army or something and get me a jet ready to leave for Malibu in 10 minutes," I ordered around.

Phil left to do as I said which left me with Nick.

"Why are you going back when you just got here?" He asked me.

"Pepper doesn't know yet, and I feel as if this shouldn't be done over the phone. I'll stay there for the meantime, I really need to be with Pepper," I explained to him.

"Understood."

With a nod, I left his office and went to the roof where the jet should be. The flight back to Malibu felt long. I didn't even get the nervousness I usually got whenever I rode on planes because my mind was so distracted at the thought of something bad happening to my baby boy. I know he's not a baby anymore but after practically raising him, the nickname never went away.

* * *

 _Flashback_

 _The driveway that led up to the Stark Manor was long. The grass was well kept, not a single leaf or plant out of place. The fountain stood gloriously near the door and was practically glistening as the sunlight hit the water. My driver stopped and opened the door for me, shutting it as I got out. Edwin Jarvis, the Stark's butler greeted me as I walked up the few steps of the porch._

 _"Ms. Clara, how are you this fine day?" Jarvis greeted me as he led me inside._

 _"I'm wonderful, thank you and yourself?" I asked, looking around the Manor._

 _"Fine as well, Miss. Mr. Stark is in his study waiting for you," Jarvis stopped at a door which I can only assume was Howard's study._

 _"Thank you, Jarvis, be a dear and call Tony in for me in a few minutes. I want to say hi to my favorite godson," I smiled at Jarvis who nodded before I went inside the room._

 _On Howard's desk was the map we've been using to mark where we've looked for the Valkyrie and Steve. Howard was hunched over it, looking closely at more areas we haven't checked. Over many years, we have put x's on the map where we searched but found nothing._

 _"Busy?" I spoke aloud making Howard look up._

 _Time has been kind to Howard. Though he's aged, he still looked as handsome as ever. He was well in his mid 50's but doesn't have a single grey hair. I'm starting to wonder if he dyes his hair._

 _"Mels! You're here!"_

 _Howard stood up from his desk and walked over to me and wrapped his arms around me tightly._

 _"I'm glad you're here!"_

 _Howard led me over to a chair in front of his desk. I placed my bag on the ground beside me._

 _"How've you been? How's Maria and Tony?" I asked him, crossing my leg over the other._

 _He looked up from the map he was checking over and answered me distractedly._

 _"Huh? Oh, they're good. Maria's really busy with her boutique and I think she's planning on opening another shop somewhere in Brooklyn. Tony's well, he's a little genius isn't he? I think he just made a circuit a few years ago," He told me offhandedly._

 _"Oh! That's amazing," I exclaimed feeling immensely proud of Tony._

 _"Anyways, I was thinking of checking out somewhere near the coast of Greenland, I already got the boat at the dock ready to leave tomorrow so you can come along," Howard informed me._

 _I sighed heavily._

 _"That's actually what I wanted to talk to you about. It's been 30 years of looking for Steve and I just feel that-"_

 _I was cut off when the door to the office opened to reveal a little boy with a big grin on his face._

 _"Rissa!"_

 _"Tony!" I exclaimed opening my arms and beckoning him to give me a hug._

 _"Tony, what have I said about barging in here," Howard scolded._

 _"Oh, Howie, it's fine. I was the one who requested him to be called here," I told Howard._

 _I looked at Tony, "Look at how big you've gotten the last time I saw you!"_

 _He started rambling about all the circuits he's built over the past year and was talking about the engine he's almost done building down in the workshop when Howard cut in._

 _"Tony, go downstairs. Your aunt and I were talking about something important and you've just interrupted," Howard chided._

 _The light in Tony's eyes dimmed_ _when he was told to leave. I could tell he was sort of used to it when he sighed and went to leave the room before I called him._

 _"I'll come down later baby boy, I just need to wrap things up with your dad," I promised him with a smile._

 _He gave me one as well which put a bit of a skip in his step. Once the door shut, I lightly glared at Howard._

 _"Please tell me that's not how you treat Tony whenever he has something to show you," I said to him, crossed about his attitude towards his own son._

 _"Mels, I'm just busy. I want to find the Captain as soon as possible for you," Howard tried to explain to me._

 _"I do too, but I have already told you that I want you to put your family first. That's the thing I was wanting to tell you about," I said softly._

 _He looked at me curiously, "What is it?"_

 _"I think... I think that we should put a stop to this," I said reluctantly._

 _"Mels, I-I don't understand... Don't you want to find Steve?" Howard asked me, moving to take a seat next to me._

 _I ran a hand through my hair._

 _"Of course I do, but I feel as if I've taken you from your family too many times. It's been thirty years, it's time that we move on... It's time that_ I _move on."_

 _I looked at my hands that were clasped on my lap. Howard placed his own over mine._

 _"Are you sure Mels?" Howard asked, making sure that I was to go through with this plan._

 _I swallowed a lump in my throat before answering._

 _"Yes."_

 _Howard heaved a sigh before standing up._

 _"Alright, I'll stop the expedition," Howard turned his back on me and faced the window._

 _I stood up from my seat and walked over to him and made him turn to face me and enveloped him in another hug._

 _"I can't thank you enough for what you've done. This is my way of repaying you, letting you get a chance to spend time with your family, something you deserved," I spoke in his ear._

 _I pushed myself off of him and gave him a kiss on the cheek. He gave me a smile that showed the wrinkles by his eyes._

 _"I'm gonna go check what Tony's made," I told him before leaving the office._

 _Right before I left, I stood by the doorway and looked back at him._

 _"You know, he just wants your approval right? I can say how proud I am of him and Maria can say it to him countless of times, but he wants to hear it from you. I know you think he is but saying it to him would mean the world," I advised Howard before giving him one last smile before I head down to the workshop._

 _~0~_

 _There was a lot of scrap metal lying about in the workshop. In the back though was Tony, sitting on a stool in front of what seems to be an engine._

 _"Hey, baby boy. What are you working on?" I asked him as I looked over his shoulder._

 _"A motorcycle engine," Tony replied, putting down the wrench he was using to wipe the sweat off his brow._

 _"And I'm not a baby anymore so you can't call me that now," Tony huffed._

 _I raised an eyebrow at him._

 _"Oh, you're not a baby anymore huh?" I asked him amusedly._

 _"Nope, nuh uh. I'm a man now, I just built an engine all by myself," Tony said proudly, puffing his chest slightly._

 _"You know how your parents and I explained to you that I can't age? Well now I'm currently 130 something so you're still my baby boy," I opened my arms and he immediately came to me for a hug._

 _"Tony, sweetie, you'll always be my baby boy you understand? Even when you're old and wrinkly," I told him as I dropped a kiss on his head._

 _He pulled away and made a face at me._

 _"Old and wrinkly, like dad?" He clarified making me laugh slightly._

 _"Yes, old and wrinkly, like your dad," I said, "So, tell me, why did you build a motorcycle engine? Isn't a car engine more intricate?"_

 _"Dad keeps talking about how Captain America used to ride a motorcycle so I built one. Maybe now he'll notice the things I work on and be proud," Tony confessed to me, playing with his oil greased hands._

 _I looked at the little boy in front of me sadly and ruffled his hair before tilting his face to look at him._

 _"Sweetheart, your dad is very proud of you, so is your mom and me. He... just isn't very verbal with it as we are," I explained to him, making sure he understood everything I was saying._

 _He nodded slowly and I gave him a smile before he wrapped his arms around my neck once more._

 _"I love you, Rissa," He told me softly._

 _I smiled against his hair, "I love you too baby boy."_

* * *

I didn't even give the pilot a chance to land on the private runway. I told him to just hover over the house and I'll just jump out. He tried to change my mind and tell me it'll be easier if he just landed, but I argued with him that it would take longer for me to get to the house that way.

Once the jet reached the house, I opened the hatch and jumped out. I landed and did a roll. I did a little wave at the jet to let the pilot know I was alright. I brushed the little bit of dirt that was on my clothes before making my way down the roof. I walked to the entrance on the ground that I had Tony installed that led to my room.

 _"Ms. Clara, Sir did not inform me that you were coming,"_ JARVIS said to me once he detected I was in the house.

"JARVIS, run a search for Tony, he's missing in Afghanistan. Also look for anything related to the Ten Rings, I've got Phil and Maria doing the same thing, but I'll take all the help I can get. Give Rhodey unrestricted access to anything. If he has to hack into anything, do it, I don't care, I want him found." I ordered JARVIS.

I walked out of my room, "JARVIS, is Pepper here?"

 _"Yes, Miss, I have told her you were here, she is currently in the living room,"_ JARVIS told me.

I walked to the living room to see Pepper sitting with her laptop perched on her crossed legs as she watched the news.

"Clara, I didn't know you were coming back so soon," She told me about to stand up to give me a hug.

I put a hand out to stop her from moving any more than she already did. She looked at me confusedly.

"You might want to stay sitting for this," I told her quietly.

"Clara, what's wrong, you're practically shaking," Pepper told me.

I didn't even notice as I walked closer to her and took a seat beside her. My eyes started to water as I began to tell her.

"Pepper, it's Tony," I started, "He's missing."

Pepper's eyes widened and she covered her mouth with her hands.

"Rhodey said his humvee was bombed and shot at. He was the only one not there, my people think he's been kidnapped by the terrorists that are currently active there," I continued to tell her.

I looked down at my shaking hands and held them together trying to make it stop as my vision went blurry.

"I-I know it's wrong for me to be thankful he's just kidnapped. Kidnapped I can handle, I can find him. I will turn over every stone on this planet to find him, but if he's... d-dead, I don't know how I'll cope Pepper, I just don't. He's my entire life and I can't lose him."

Pepper took me in her arms and comforted me for the rest of the night as I cried for my baby boy.

* * *

 **AN: Pretty short chapter compared to the previous one, but here we see a bit of a flashback! I love** love love **writing Clary in Tony's life because I really love the thought of Tony having a mother figure in his** grown up **life and I hope I bring that by writing Clary. There might be a bit of a wait for the next few chapters seeing as I haven't even finished the chapter after this one because of my school but let's all hope I can finish it before the week ends and start on the next one! Thank you all for reading and if you liked the story please leave a review! It means a lot to me! -E**


	16. Three Months

Disclaimer: I own nothing you recognize. Only my OC, Agent Clarissa Melanie Connors, and her story line belongs to me.

~0~ = little break

* * *

 _*First Month*_

The first month was the worst. I had dealt with losing people that I was close to, people like Clint or Natasha. I've dealt with them being kidnaped and shot at and what not but they were trained for that. I trained them for that, I was with them through their most difficult missions and was practically their extraction team. This thing with Tony being kidnaped and possibly hurt completely blindsided me. I wasn't in any way prepared for this, at all.

I've been trying not to act the way I did when I lost Steve. I tried not to shut myself down and block everyone out. Pepper has been so very supportive though I can tell it's starting to hit her too. Even though she tries to cover it up with makeup, I can see the redness of her eyes and cheeks, but she puts on a strong front.

Nick's been helping as well, tries to distract me with missions and attempts to drown me in paperwork that's 'important' and 'must be done'. It has helped, even Steve in my dreams helps me and he coaxes me to not stop my life because of a bump on the road. He's been telling me how I shouldn't give up hope but still go on with my day to day things.

I went to Stark Industries with Pepper to check up on things there. It was also my way of helping Pepper in return of all the help she gave me. Obadiah was handling things around the company, but I still chose to check in. She's done so much for me especially with Tony, I can't believe it's been 17 years since she's been with us.

 _*Flashback*_

 _"Tony!" I yelled throughout the house._

 _I groaned when he didn't hear me. We were supposed to be on our way to Stark Industries, but Tony was being stubborn._

 _"JARVIS please tell Tony that if he doesn't get his ass up here I'm going to drag him myself and cut him off for a month," I told JARVIS heatedly._

 _"_ Of course, Ms. Clara. _"_

 _It only took Tony 2 minutes to run up next to me. I gave him a glare and straightened him out._

 _"You are going to make us late for your interviews," I said to him, smoothing out the lapels of his suit._

 _He rolled his eyes at me and groaned._

 _"Why can't you handle it, Rissa? Or better yet, just cancel the entire thing and stay in Stark Industries," Tony proposed, "Just because I'm becoming CEO doesn't mean you have to leave entirely. You can be my assistant!"_

 _I gave him a look and scoffed._

 _"Do you really think I would wait on you hand and foot? Think again baby boy. You need a personal assistant and I am going to supervise all the interviews just to make sure you have... a clear mind with these people," I smirked at him and Tony childishly stuck out his tongue at me._

 _"Alright, let's hit the road,"_

~0~

 _The interview process took very long. There were 15 possible candidates and they were all the same, just trying to get it on with Tony. I feel like my eyes are going to fall out by the many times I've rolled them._

 _"How many more are there?" Tony groaned, feeling restless as I was probably._

 _He was hanging upside down on his armrest._

 _"Darling, don't do that. All the blood will rush to your head," I chastised him, reading over the last candidate's file._

 _"And there's only one more so please, bear with it?" I pleaded._

 _Tony stood up from his chair and walked over to the tray of alcohol I kept around the office and poured himself a drink, declining when he offered me some._

 _"Do we have to interview this person? I mean, I think I'm going to go with Evelyn. You remember her? Brunette, blue eyes_ , _great legs?" Tony joked._

 _How could I not remember her? She was wearing the shortest pencil skirt known to man!_

 _I looked at Tony, "I was going more for Chris, you remember him right? Brunet, nice beard, impeccable taste in suits?" I joked back._

 _Chris was the only male candidate in the whole list. I was all for him once I realized the other women's goals for this job. Being Tony's personal assistant would mean they would be with him practically 24/7. Of course I did a more thorough background check on all the candidates before we interviewed them just to be on the sure side of things._

 _"Just, get the last one in here so we can go home," Tony waved me off._

 _The woman walked in through the door was very elegant and had a determined look on her face. She was very young and very beautiful. She gracefully sat down on the chair and folded her hands in her lap, ready to answer my questions._

 _"Good afternoon, Miss... Potts," I greeted her, looking at her file._

 _She gave both Tony and I polite smiles before greeting us too._

 _"It says here you're already an intern in Stark Industries, is that correct?" I asked her, seeing Tony raise at eyebrow at that._

 _"Yes, ma'am, that's correct, and please call me Pepper," She told me politely._

 _"So what made you want to be an assistant, my assistant no less?" Tony asked her._

 _"Well, the opportunity came up for me to show that I'm a very hard working person and I am an intern here so I know the ways of the company. Plus getting paid is good too," Pepper joked making me laugh behind my hand._

 _"How long have you been an intern here?" Tony asked._

 _"About a year and a half now."_

 _"You're gorgeous, how have I missed a face like yours?" Tony flirted, once again I rolled my eyes at his antics._

 _"Um, well, thank you, Mr. Stark, but I'm just another intern. I'm supposed to be invisible so I guess I'm doing my job right if you haven't noticed me," Pepper blushed slightly at the compliment._

 _Huh, humble. First time today, the rest of the women flirted back when Tony did. I like her._

 _"How about we talk about business elsewhere, dinner perhaps?" Tony asked with a wolfish grin on his face._

 _Pepper stared at him cooly before answering._

 _"Mr. Stark, if we must talk business I believe the perfect place would be right here. Why waste time right?" Pepper rejected him._

 _Tony all but dropped his mouth making laugh._

 _"I like you, Pepper, you're hired. You can start Monday if you'd like," I told her with a smile, ignoring Tony's outrageous cry of my name._

 _Pepper looked shocked. She immediately stood up and shook my hand wildly, thanking me profusely. After she left Tony looked at me with exasperation all over his face._

 _"Are you serious?"_

 _"Don't worry sugar, she'll be good for you I promise_ ,"

~0~

I walked into Tony's office, well it was my office too when I was CEO myself. Of course it had been Howard's before mine. I remember how shocked I was when I found out he'd put the company in my name on his will. It was still technically half mine, of course, Tony gets the other half.

When Howard and I told the world about me, about how I couldn't age normally and couldn't die technically, the entire world was at a shock. I think Howard almost killed the population of America when he said that if anything were to happen to him, I would immediately gain control of the company. I argued with him (privately of course) and said it wasn't right for me to get the company when it should be for his child, (in this case, Tony) but he said that I would just own half of it and I could step down as CEO whenever I want as long as I pick a trustworthy successor.

Of course my first thought of who would be to succeed me was Obadiah considering he and Howard were close friends and worked with each other. But as time went on, we realized that Tony, like his dad, was a genius. I just had to wait for the right time, but then the accident happened. It was a dark time, just like now.

"Clara, are you alright?"

I looked up at the sound of the voice. Pepper was standing near me, a concerned look on her face. I gave her a forced smile.

"Yeah, yeah just thinking," I lied, sort of.

"The board members want to see you," She informed me.

"The board? Did they say why?" I questioned, but Pepper just shrugged her shoulders, confused as I was.

"You can just wait in the car if you want. I'll just be a moment."

I left the office and headed straight to the conference room. I was greeted with twelve older men, including Obadiah who made up the members of the board.

"Gentlemen, what's with the surprise meeting?" I asked them, sitting at the head of the table.

"Ms. Connors, we were just discussing how we're are going to need to find someone to fill the spot as CEO," John Cartwright spoke up.

"Yes, we all agreed that a company as large as Stark Industries can't run as well without a CEO," Henry Nichols added.

I looked down the table giving all of them cold stares.

"I understand your concerns for the company gentlemen, but let me ask you this. Why are you all talking as if Tony won't come back?"

A brave soul answered my question although he looked like he was about to shit his pants when I turned to look at him.

"W-With all due respect, Ms. Connors, but a month has passed already, and we can't neglect the jobs the CEO is supposed to do."

"What they're trying to say is, Clarissa, we just need to find someone to cover up for Tony until he comes back," Obadiah explained, "Now I would be glad to step up and do the job-"

"No," I cut him off, "I still own half the company, therefore I will resume being CEO until Tony gets back. I want all details of our shipments before they go out and anything we order I want to see before we get them understood?"

All the board members nodded their heads slowly. I pushed my chair out before standing up and walking towards the door.

"Have a good day, gentlemen," I said before leaving.

~0~

 _*Second Month*_

I was trying to tidy Tony's workshop to keep me busy. It's been almost two months and I was beginning to be restless. I've recently just got back to the country after leaving for a few days, doing my own searching. Clint, Natasha, and I went out a few miles out from Kunar, where Tony was last seen. So far we found nothing. Maria also found a few suspicious orders from Stark Industries sent to Afghanistan so we checked out that location as well but it seemed as if they moved camps before we got there. What makes it even more frustrating is that Phil can't find anything about the Ten Rings' location. It makes me want to pull out all my hair! Now I have to keep myself busy of else I just might do that, or worse.

As I cleaned, I found a box full of old film reels. I assumed they were all Howard's. They were all labeled and while looking through the box, a title caught my eye; Captain America and the Howling Commandos. This brought back memories.

"Hey J? Does Tony have an old projector somewhere?"

 _"I believe Mr. Stark keeps it in that cabinet at the bottom shelf_ _over there."_

A light shone at a metal cabinet at the far end of the workshop. I opened the cabinet and looked through the bottom shelf and just like JARVIS said, there it was. It took me a while to set up the projector as I was so used to the more advanced technology we have now, but I managed. I propped it up so it would face the clear white wall of the shop and grabbed myself a chair, waiting for the film to begin.

It was the few missions the Commandos went to, but I didn't, seeing as I was more needed at the base than with them. I remember being happy that a film crew went with them during these times so I would be able to see the mission as well. Steve and Bucky were complaining about it to me the minute they came back, saying how they were infiltrating in on their jobs as was very bothersome.

The familiar sound of the rattling film echoed throughout the empty room. The light from the projector started flickering as the film started. It showed a black and white picture of the Howling Commandos as well as Steve in action. Oh, Steve. It's been decades since I've seen him move like this, occasionally I would see him in the little pictures I have of him and in my dreams, but seeing him in action was always breathtaking to me. He moved so gracefully and naturally like he's been taught everything he's done before. I know he spent time in the gym with Bucky to prepare himself for the war but still.

My favorite part came on and it made me tear up. Steve was telling the men where to go and where to attack from. It seemed like they were on a truck or something, a map in front of them. Steve was pointing his arm in different directions and the other one was holding his compass. The camera man, I assumed saw something in his compass and decided to zoom in on it. On the lid of the compass was a picture of me in it. It was the one from a newspaper article that Steve cut out from. He noticed the camera pointed towards his compass and promptly shut it, giving the camera an irritated frown. I didn't stop teasing him about it for weeks but when he said it made him feel better knowing I was with him all the time, I almost snogged him right there, but I kept my composure.

The film slowly ended and I was left sitting in a pitch black room before I told JARVIS to turn the lights on. Perhaps watching this film wasn't the best thing to do under the circumstances considering it only made me feel worse and yearned for another person; Steve. Sighing heavily, I stood up from my chair and went upstairs to my room.

"JARVIS, I'm gonna need a day to myself. Reroute all calls to Pepper or Nick, depending on who the caller is. No one is to disturb me until I say so," I ordered JARVIS.

 _"Understood Ms. Clara, I hope you feel better_ _by tomorrow,"_ JARVIS replied.

"So do I JARVIS, so do I."

~0~

 _*Third Month*_

By the middle of the third month, we were finally getting somewhere. Phil got an alert of some movement from the Ten Rings near the Registan Desert. Immediately sending out a team of agents to survey the place, I told Rhodey to command a search party of his own somewhere near the place. I stayed in Malibu with Pepper, both of us anxious to hear some news. A few hours later, I get a call from Rhodey.

 _"Clara, we got him."_

Those words were like music to my ears. I let out a huge sigh of relief.

"Oh, thank god. Is he alright? Is he hurt badly? Where are you guys now?" I rambled.

 _"He's fine Clara, just asleep from all the exhaustion. We're on our way to the base, probably half an hour_ _tops,"_ Rhodey informed me.

"Alright, good. I'll tell Pepper and we'll meet you there. Thank you, for finding him Rhodey," I thanked him before hanging up.

"JARVIS is Pepper still here?" I asked.

 _"Yes, Ms. Clara. Miss Potts is currently in_ _the lounge area."_

"Thanks, J."

I hurriedly walked to where Pepper was, excited to tell her the good news.

"Pepper! They found him! Rhodey found him!" I exclaimed happily, shedding a few tears.

"Rhodey said they're gonna be at the base in half an hour, that should be enough time for you to freshen up right?"

Pepper nodded and wiped her face.

"I'll call Happy to have him bring the car out. I'll meet you outside in 15," I told her before going to my room to grab my purse and redo my makeup.

"Pepper let's go!" I yelled throughout the house.

The faint sound of heels clicking on the floor became stronger as Pepper came. Once I saw her I immediately headed towards the car. Happy already had the door open for us. Pepper and I quickly hopped in.

"Happy step on it! Go through red lights I don't care, get to the base as fast as you can," I ordered him.

He nodded at me from the rearview mirror and the car jerked to life. I watched the outside world fly by as my leg bounced anxiously. Soon enough Happy parked the car at the tarmac, a waiting ambulance was parked near us. He advised us to stay inside until the jet landed, but I couldn't do that.

As soon as I saw the jet, I immediately got out of the car, Pepper following my actions. We both covered our eyes to shield them away from the dust. I heard a sniffle once the jet landed and I turned my head towards Pepper who was crying again.

I rubbed my hand behind her back comfortingly.

"C'mon Pepper, we can't inflate his ego anymore his head would burst," I joked eliciting a watery laugh from her.

The drop zone of the jet opened to reveal Tony in a suit looking worse for wear than usual. I noticed he had his right arm in a sling, I willed myself not to cry trying to take my own advice. Rhodey assisted Tony down the ramp as the paramedics rolled in a gurney to him.

"Are you kidding me with this? Get rid of them," Tony scoffed at the gurney, but Rhodey did as he said.

He walked towards us and as soon as he was close enough, I almost tackled him in an embrace, still wary about the arm in the sling. Well, there goes my advice of staying cool.

"You are never leaving the house without a leash, do you understand me?" I playfully kid.

Tony laughed at me, but he still embraced me as tight as I embraced him. I placed my hands on his face, assessing if he had any more injuries besides his arm. He had a few cuts and scratched on his face but nothing too serious.

"Oh, you had me so worried, baby boy," I whispered in his ear.

Tony gave me another tight squeeze before releasing me. He turned to Pepper looking at her critically.

"Your eyes are red and puffy, a few tears for your long lost boss?" Tony mocked, but Pepper ignored it, rolling her eyes.

"Tears of joy, I hate job hunting," She stated, obviously joking.

"Yeah vacation's over," Tony said playfully.

I playfully smacked him in the chest, but my hand hit something hard, not hard like bone, but hard like metal. Tony didn't seem to have noticed so I ignored it for now and decided to ask about it in the car. I looped my arm through his good one, leading him to the car. Pepper took the front seat, leaving me and Tony in the back so it wouldn't be a cramped.

"Where to, sir?" Happy asked, turned around in his seat.

"The hospital please, Happy," Pepper interjected.

"No."

Pepper turned back from her seat as well, a confused look on her face.

"No? W-What do you mean no?"

"No is a complete answer," Tony reasoned.

"Tony, listen to Pepper, a doctor has to look at you-" Tony cut me off

"I don't have to do anything. I've been in captivity for three months, there are two things I want. I want an American cheeseburger and second-"

This time, Pepper cut him off, and if she didn't I would have. I looked at him disappointedly.

"That's enough."

"No, Rissa, Pepper it's not what you think. Pepper I want you to call for a press conference now."

Pepper glanced at me, silently asking if I knew what he was up to, but I was just as lost as she was.

"A press conference? What on earth for?" Pepper asked him but was ignored.

"Hogan drive, cheeseburger first."

"What's on your chest Tony?" I asked as soon as it was silent.

Pepper turned from her seat once again, my question gaining her attention.

"You felt it didn't you? Earlier when you smacked me." He didn't deny that there was something on his chest.

"What is it?" I asked again.

"Don't freak out okay?" Tony warned me before he started to unbutton his shirt.

My eyes widened as I covered my mouth, I heard a gasp that I can assume only came from Pepper.

"Is that what I think it is?" I breathed out.

"If what you're thinking is a miniaturized arc reactor, then yeah it's exactly what you're thinking," Tony said nonchalantly.

I wrapped my arms around him as if hugging him is the only way to solve this problem.

"Oh, my baby boy. What happened to you out there?" I said in his ear.

"They had my weapons, Rissa, they had weapons that had my name printed on the side," He disclosed to me.

"Ironically, it was also the one that blew up next to me, this here," He tapped the arc reactor in his chest, "is what's keeping the shrapnel away from my heart."

I eyed the glowing thing in his chest.

"Please tell me you're making a better version of that back home... Need I remind you that you did create that in a cave," I clarified.

"Yes, Rissa, I'm making a new one."

Happy went through a Burger King drive-through and ordered 3 cheeseburgers for Tony. He ate one of them so fast it looked like he just inhaled the thing. We slowly rolled up to Stark Industries where there were already swarms of reporters waiting for Tony's arrival. At the front of the reporters was Obadiah who greeted Tony with open arms.

"Hey! Tony!" He said as he hugged Tony

Obadiah leaned close to his ear, but I still heard him say, "I thought we were gonna met up at the hospital?"

"No, I'm fine," Tony assured him before greeting the press.

Obadiah looked at me and gave me a fake looking smile.

"Obadiah," I greeted him with a nod which he returned before turning back to the press to follow Tony inside.

Pepper and Happy ushered me inside where we followed the crowd. We stood in a small press room, a podium was at the front of the room ready for Tony to use. Pepper and I stood near the back of the room, just to stay away from all the reporters.

"Happy, can you please guard the door? I know it seems silly but I think it'll help calm my nerves a bit," I asked him.

Happy waved me off, "No problem Ms. Connors."

Pepper and I watched as the reporters started settling down before someone familiar came into my eye line.

"Miss Potts?"

I turned to see Phil standing next to Pepper. My eyebrow rose as I looked at him and asked him a silent question of what he's doing here, but all I got was a secretive smile.

"Yes?" Pepper replied.

"Can I speak to you for a moment?" Phil inquired.

"Oh, I'm not part of the press conference, but it's about to begin right away."

"I'm not part of the press. I'm Agent Coulson of the Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division," He held out a business card for Pepper who looked at him amusedly before accepting it.

"That's quite a mouthful," She joked.

"I bet they get that a lot," I commented, my voice full of amusement as I gave Phil a look.

"Yes we do, my boss makes me say the entire thing, I'm working on it," Phil explained to us.

"You know, we've already been approached by the DOD, the FBI, the CIA," Pepper stated but Phil interjected.

"We're a separate division with a more specific focus. We need to debrief Mr. Stark about the circumstances of his escape."

I raised an eyebrow in his direction, but he just shrugged.

"I'll put something in the book, shall I?" Pepper agreed, diverting her attention back to Tony as she stepped away from Phil and I.

"Debriefing him, huh," I said to him but still keeping my focus in front of me.

"Fury's idea obviously," Phil told me.

"Figured, didn't bother talking to me about it," I said annoyed.

"I'm sure he'll get an earful from you. He didn't want to tell you because he knew-"

"That I'd be against it, yeah I am, but you're right, he is going to get an earful from me."

I noticed Obadiah stand by the podium ready to start when he noticed Tony was sitting at the bottom of the podium, eating his burger.

"C-Can everyone just sit down," He asked the reporters, "that way I can still see you and it won't be as formal and..."

The reporters shared confused yet amused looks but still did as he asked.

"I better see what's he's up to," I said to Phil before leaving him and going next to Tony.

"Hey," He said quietly to Obadiah then turned to me and gave me a sweet smile.

Tony took the last bite of his burger before addressing the crowd.

"I never got to say goodbye to my dad," He began, startling me that he was actually talking about Howard.

"I never got to say goodbye to my father, There's questions that I would have asked him. I would have asked him how he felt about what this company did. lf he was conflicted, if he ever had doubts. Or maybe he was every inch the man we all remember from the newsreels," He looked at me and all I could do was give him a sad smile and hold his hand.

"I saw young Americans killed by the very weapons I created to defend them and protect them. And I saw that I had become part of a system that is comfortable with zero accountability."

Tony paused for a moment and that gave a reporter a chance to raise his hand timidly.

"Mr. Stark?"

"Hey Ben," Tony called on him, I'm not actually sure if his name was Ben.

"What happened over there?" He asked.

Tony abruptly stood up and made his way to the podium, I stood up as well and backed up at bit, back to Pepper but stayed standing.

"I had my eyes opened. I came to realize that I have more to offer this world than just making things that blow up," He took a pregnant pause, making me wonder what he was about to do.

"And that is why, effective immediately, I am shutting down the weapons manufacturing division-"

My jaw dropped as did Pepper's. The room turned into a frenzy as all the reporters rapidly began asking questions.

"-Until such a time as I can decide what the future of the company will be. What direction it should take, one that I'm comfortable with and is consistent with the highest good for this country, as well." Tony tried to continue but Obadiah was pushing him out of the way.

A security guard brought him over to us and we made away at the car where Happy was already waiting.

"Tony, honey, are you sure about this?" I asked him softly.

"Rissa, you weren't there. I already told you, they had my weapons. I don't know how they got there but if it means that I have to stop making weapons so they won't get their hands on them, I will," Tony said seriously, leaving no room for arguments.

"I'm proud of you, that wasn't an easy thing to do," I told him, caressing his cheek.

"Thanks, I won't let you down, Rissa."

"Oh, baby boy, you'll never let me down," I kissed his cheek softly before telling Happy to go.

* * *

 **AN: Sorry for the late update, but wow! 103 follows! I honestly wasn't expecting to get 100 so thank you so much! On a sadder note, this will be the last regular update. The rest of my updates will be surprises from now on because school takes up a lot of my time. Thanks for reading and those who reviewed, I'm glad you all are enjoying the story. I hope to see you soon! -E**

 **As for the reviews:**

 **-Thank you! And you're not being rude, I just thought that by me saying if you recognized anything to do with Marvel meant I didn't own it... so by you recognizing it is Agent Carter's lines mean I don't own it... idk how to really edit a disclaimer but if you're willing you can write something up for me!**


	17. Nostalgia

**Disclaimer: I own nothing you recognize. Only my OC, Agent Clarissa Melanie Connors, and her story line belongs to me.**

 **~0~ = little break**

 ***Warning: Long AN at the bottom!***

* * *

Tony requested to be dropped off at the Arc Reactor building, he told me he knew Obadiah would be upset with what he's done so, at least they'd be somewhere private to discuss the matter. I, on the other hand, requested to go back to the house and just meet him there, bringing Pepper along with me.

The drive back to the house was short and quiet. Pepper was busy dealing with the press because of Tony's surprise announcement. Once we arrived, I told Pepper to go ahead inside, needing to make a quick call. I dialed Nick's personal cell, it only made it to two rings before he answered me.

"I take it you heard," was the first thing he said.

"You bet I did. What the hell do you think you're doing?" I asked him angrily.

"Clara, don't you want to know how he escaped? We've got people saying they saw a flying object crash a few miles out from the camp."

"I don't care, Tony is under my protection, therefore, you can't approach him without my authorization. SHIELD can't approach him until I tell him what my job really entails, alright," I told him firmly.

I heard him scoff at the other end making me raise an eyebrow.

"SHIELD," I heard him mutter.

"What? It beats saying Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enfor-"

"Alright, I get it. I just want people to know who we are," Nick defended making me laugh.

"And Nick, tell Phil to do a more thorough search on Obadiah."

"Will do, bye."

I hung up the phone and went inside the house straight to Tony's workshop.

"JARVIS, has Tony sent you anything related to his new body part?" I asked the AI as soon as I got into the shop.

" _Mr. Stark has privately sent something to me after he got his check up before he arrived. He has requested that I put it in his private files,_ " JARVIS informed me.

"Pull up the files, make up a list of all the components needed," I ordered JARVIS.

" _Ms. Clara, I'm afraid you don't have the power to do that._ "

"JARVIS, do it, override it under my authority, 'Connors, Clarissa M.' ."

" _Override passcode accepted._ "

A list appeared before me, checking it out.

"Order everything on the list but do it secretly," I said to JARVIS.

" _Of course Ms._ "

Not even a few minutes later, JARVIS informed me of Tony's arrival. I heard him enter his code to the shop as he entered.

"How'd your talk go?" I asked him as soon as he was in my line of sight.

Tony was playing around with a hologram as he answered me.

"Obie has the worst poker face ever, Rhodey probably told him about it."

I nodded, but my mind was thinking about how wrong that was. Rhodey wouldn't tell Obadiah about Tony's predicament, not after I told them not to.

"And?" I baited, "What did he say about it?"

Tony shrugged, "Nothing much, he said he has to talk it over with the board and that I should probably lay low for the time being."

"He's probably right," I said, surprising him, "The press would eat you alive if this got out."

He walked around the shop and noticed the loading list on the side, he gave me a questioning look.

"I took the liberty of ordering the necessary parts that you'd need for the reactor. It should be here tomorrow, but I'm sure you can get started on it right now."

"Should I ask how you got access to that top secret file?" Tony questioned playfully.

I smirked, "Some things are meant to stay a secret."

~0~

The next day, I was down in the workshop with Tony who was attaching leads on his body that was hooked up to a monitor that would show his vitals. The parts for the arc reactor came in earlier than I expected so Tony and I stayed up all night building a new and better one. I walked towards the monitor, eyeing his vitals carefully. I watched as he laid down on the chair and carefully picked up the new arc reactor.

"And this one will pull the shrapnel away from your heart more efficiently right?" I asked him, eyeing the brand new reactor he was holding.

Tony lifted it up and inspected it, "That's the plan, this one-" he tapped the one in his chest "-can be considered an antique now."

I looked at the monitor again and saw that his heart rate was really fast.

"Sweetheart, are you okay? Your heart rate has more waves than the ocean."

He looked over at the monitor and saw what I was talking about, "Huh, oh there's an exposed wire and it's touching the socket wall and causing a bit of a short."

My eyes widened a bit at his nonchalant tone.

"It's totally fine, but show me your hands."

I gave him a questioning look but lifted up my hands to show them.

"Damn, they're too big," I heard him mutter under his breath.

"Excuse me?" I asked him with a raised eyebrow.

"Nothing personal Rissa. JARVIS call Pepper upstairs."

I watched on the other monitor when Pepper picked up the intercom.

"Pepper, how big are your hands?" Tony asked, getting right to the point.

"What?"

"How big are your hands?" Tony repeated himself.

"You know, saying it twice won't make it any clearer for her, right?" I commented.

Tony just gave me a look.

"Clara's right Tony, I don't understand why-"

"Just get down here. I need you," with that, Tony ended the call.

A few moments later, we saw Pepper coming down the stairs and into the workshop, her eyes focused on Tony lying down on the chair with the arc reactor in his hands. She sent me a look which I replied with a shrug.

"Hey, let's see them. Show me your hands," Tony said once she was in the shop.

Pepper did as she was told and held up her hands for Tony to see.

"Oh, wow. They are small, very petite, indeed," He commented making me roll my eyes.

"Sorry Pep, we just need your help for a sec," I told her with a sheepish smile.

Her eyes moved from me to Tony.

"Oh, my God, is that the thing that's keeping you alive?" She asked, slowly making her way next to Tony.

"It was, it is now an antique," He held up the new reactor, a bright blue light emitting from it and showed it to her.

"This is what will be keeping me alive for the foreseeable future," Tony explained to Pepper who looked like she was having a hard time wrapping her head around the entire situation.

"Tony's trying to upgrade his old one for the new one but, he ran into a little speed bump," I told Pepper, putting my index finger and thumb together to show how little the problem was.

"Speed bump, wh-what does that mean?" She looked between Tony and me, a bit frantic.

"It's nothing major," I blurt out, trying to calm her.

"Yeah, it's just a little snag. There's an exposed wire underneath the device that's contacting the socket wall, causing a bit of a short, it's fine."

I bit my lip as I watched Tony turn the reactor in his chest and practically yanked it out of himself. Pepper was eyeing Butterfingers (a machine Tony built) who was hovering above Tony with suction. Pepper jumped when she heard the wire detach from Tony's chest. He took the old reactor and passed it to Pepper who was now panicking.

"Well, wh-what do you want me to do?" She asked as she took the reactor from him.

"Just put that on the table over there, that is irrelevant," He told Pepper.

I noticed his breathing got a lot heavier when he took out the reactor. I placed my hand on his arm, the touch made him turn towards me.

"How are you feeling? Are you good?" I asked, concern lacing my words.

"Yeah, yeah I'm fine," Tony tried to assure me.

Pepper turned back to Tony after placing the old reactor on the table, "Now what?"

"Now, I want you to reach in, and you're just gonna gently lift the wire out," Tony instructed her.

Pepper looked into his chest then looked at me before finally looking at Tony, "Is it... safe?"

"Yeah, it should be fine," Tony assured her, "It's like Operation, you just don't let it touch the socket wall or it goes _'beep!'_ "

"That's the simile you're going with?" I asked, a bit amused.

"What's 'Opera-' what do you mean, "Operation"? Pepper asked the two of us, clearly not knowing what the game was.

"It's just a game, never mind," Tony told her, waving it off when she didn't understand.

"Just gently lift the wire, okay? Great."

Tony sat straight and waited for Pepper to do as she was asked. I held my breath and waited for her to put her hand in his chest. She was just about to put her hand in before she took a sharp intake of breath.

"You know, I don't think that I'm qualified to do this," Pepper began rambling.

"No, you're fine," Tony tried to tell her but she kept talking.

"I'm not good with this sort of things. Clara's right there, I'm sure she's more than qualified to be doing this!"

"Pepper!" I exclaimed.

"I can't do it because my hands are too big," I explained to her.

"Besides," Tony cut in, "You are the most capable, qualified, trustworthy person I've ever met, next to Rissa of course. You're gonna do great."

Pepper looked at Tony and her expression turned from a frantic one to a calmer one. Her eyes softened at the words Tony said to her. My face had its own smile on it, ecstatic that my baby boy has someone else like that in his life besides me. I glanced at Pepper to give her an encouraging smile. She took a few calming breaths.

"Is it too much of a problem to ask? Because I'm..." Tony gestured to his position at the moment.

"Okay okay!" Pepper agreed and she reached into his chest.

A disgusted look crossed her face before she exclaimed that there was pus in Tony's chest.

"That's probably not pus. It's most likely an inorganic plasmic discharge from the device," I reassured her.

"Yeah, what Rissa said, it's not from my body," Tony convinced Pepper.

"Ugh, it smells!" Pepper cried, trying her best not to smell it and to not look in the hole.

Tony smirked, "Yeah it does."

I wrinkled my nose as the smell got to me.

"The copper wire," Tony reminded her, "The copper wire, you got it?"

"Okay, I got it! I got it!"

"Okay, you got it. Now don't let it touch the sides- ah!" Tony jolted, making me jump as well, "When you're coming out!"

A loud beep and a flash of red came from the monitor, alerting me that the wire touched the socket wall.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" Pepper muttered.

"Th-that's what I was trying to tell you before!" Tony exclaimed, still convulsing a bit because of the shock.

I tried to comfort him by rubbing my hand up his arm.

Pepper pulled out a long, copper wire string covered in slime from Tony's chest.

"Okay, now make sure when you pull it out, you don't-"

Before Tony could even finish what he was saying, Pepper gripped the wire and gave it a hard pull.

"Pull out the magnet at the end of it!" Tony blurted out really fast, "That was it, you just pulled the..."

"Oh, my God. What do we do? Should I put it back?" Pepper asked me, her hand hovering over the hole.

"No! No, don't. Just put it on the table," I told her as calmly as I could.

I could see on the monitor that Tony's heart rate accelerated and that he was in cardiac arrest. I think Pepper noticed Tony's shortness of breath because she asked him what was wrong.

"Nothing, I'm just going into cardiac arrest because you yanked it out like a trout... Never mind just take this."

Tony gave Pepper the new reactor to stop her from yelling out how she thought it was safe for her to do that. I grasped Tony's arm tightly, still looking at his vitals.

"Should I start CPR?" I asked him worriedly.

"No, it's fine we just have to hurry," He told me before looking back to Pepper, "You gotta switch it out real quick."

"Okay, Tony. It's going to be okay," Pepper assured Tony, making me more antsy seeing as we're wasting time.

"I'm gonna make this okay."

"Let's hope," Tony replied.

"Pepper! Can we please hurry it up!" I blurt out, my anxiousness getting the better of me.

Pepper winced, "Right, sorry."

"Okay, you're gonna attach this to the base plate," Tony pointed to the wire at the end of the new arc reactor before she placed it down the hole and connected it. There was a small zap and Tony shouted from the shock before laughing. I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding before leaning down and resting my head onto his arm.

"Was that so hard? That was fun right?" He asked Pepper sarcastically.

I lifted my head to watch him turn the reactor in his chest.

"Nice," Tony commented.

"Are you okay?" I asked him, his vitals looked stable as of now.

"Yeah, I feel great," He told me.

I looked at Pepper to ask her the same thing. I knew that this experience would probably traumatize her.

Pepper looked at me with wide eyes, her hands just in the air, coated with the plasma. She swallowed before nodding.

"Don't ever, ever, ever, ever ask me to do anything like that ever again," She told him, making me chuckle a bit.

"I don't have anyone but you," He confided to her quietly.

I wasn't offended, I knew what he meant by that and it just made me smile even more.

"Anyway..." Tony stood up from the chair.

"What do you want me to do with this?" Pepper asked, holding up the old arc reactor.

"That? Destroy it. Incinerate it."

There was a bit of edge and bitterness in his words that made me wonder what happened to him when he was gone.

"You don't want to keep it?" Questioned Pepper.

"Pepper, I've been called many things. 'Nostalgic' is not one of them."

I noticed the change in his attitude and so did Pepper.

"Will that be all Mr. Stark?"

"That will be all, Miss Potts."

Pepper started to walk away, the old reactor in her hands. I walked over to her and whispered, "Keep it, just in case."

She looked at me questioningly but nodded before she made her way back upstairs.

"Hey, Butterfingers, come here," I heard Tony call out.

"What's all this stuff doing on top of my desk? That's my phone, that's a picture of me and my dad and one of me and Rissa," He was pointing out things to the machine before kicking a garbage can to the side of the desk.

I walked over to him to see what he was trying to do.

"Right there," Tony pointed to the garbage, "In the garbage, all of it except for the picture of me and Rissa."

I frowned when he told Butterfingers to throw away a picture of him and Howard.

"Tony, don't throw it out," I voiced my thoughts.

I reached in to grab the picture of a young Tony and Howard, dusting it lightly before setting it back on the desk.

"I have hundreds of pictures with dad all thanks to you, so what's one down the trash?" He asked me, putting on a muscle tee on.

I glanced down at the photo again, smiling softly as nostalgia hit me.

"This one is one of my favorites so you can't throw it out," I told him.

Tony muttered a whatever under his breath.

"So are you gonna start your project soon?"

Tony shrugged his shoulders, "Maybe. I'm going down to the base to see Rhodey, try to get him into the loop and ask him to join me in this project."

"Are you still gonna make me one?" I asked him, smirking.

"Yes Rissa, I will make you your own suit," He said dejectedly, obviously not liking the idea of me in a suit, thinking it would be too dangerous, if only he knew.

"Alright, I'll be back tonight. I have to fly into New York tonight to update my people, I'll see you tomorrow afternoon most likely," I informed him.

"Do you need the jet?"

"No it's fine," I said, thinking about how taking a quinjet would be faster.

Tony gave me a peck on the cheek before bidding me goodbye and to have a safe flight.

~0~

Maria got a quinjet for me in under 20 minutes, the flight to New York lasting just as long. I headed to Nick's office. I opened the door and was thankful that he already called down Phil to be there.

"Tony's fine. The arc reactor in his chest is pulling the shrapnel away from his heart. It's the best option right now to keep him alive without having to undergo any surgeries," I informed the two, getting right to the point.

"Are you gonna stay there with him?" Nick asked me.

"Yeah, he's starting on this project that I want to keep an eye out on. It's better if I stay there with him that putting a tail on him all times."

I turned to Phil, "Did Pepper set up an appointment with you?"

"She said she would, but I have a feeling I'm going to have to barge in Stark Industries to get that meeting."

The corner of Phil's mouth turned up making me chuckle quietly.

"You probably would have to, and I'll only let you debrief Tony if I'm present during the meeting" I told him sternly, still not liking the idea of SHIELD approaching Tony.

I walked to the window of Nick's office, the one looking over the New York City skyline.

"Nick, I want you to do another thorough background check on Obadiah Stane, and this time, put a tail on him. I want to know his every move. Something about him doesn't feel right to me."

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Nick nod his head.

"Is that all?"

I shook my head and turned to face the two.

"I want you to compile all the physical files we have on Captain Steve Rogers and give them to me."

Phil and Nick shared a look. The seriousness and the hint of sadness in my voice left no room for arguments.

"Um, alright, but can I ask why?" Nick questioned.

I was already walking towards the door when he spoke. I paused by the door frame and looked back at them.

"I'm just feeling a bit nostalgic," I said quietly, and with that, I left with a nod.

* * *

 **AN: I am so so so so sorry! I've been MIA for like 3 months now because school sucks so much. I never have time to write anymore, but thankfully it's now winter break! I'm hoping that I can get maybe 1-2 more chapters in after this one, but I make no promises! I know I've been updating my other** FF **but that's only because I've had a chapter in my drafts for so long and it only needs to be edited. This chapter was literally written like 5 minutes ago which maybe explains why it's so short. I'm sorry for any grammar and spelling error! I just really wanted to post a chapter because I feel so so bad! Anyways, Tony is about to start building the suit and Clara's there to help! Yay! More Tony/Clara bonding time! I'm sorry for the sucky chapter, but I hope you can still leave a review and maybe check out my other Stev/OC FF called Family Ties! Thanks so much and have a Merry Christmas! -E**


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